The Five W's
by nadisrad
Summary: Winry...there's this thing...that Sensei used to do to help me and Al clear out minds when we're feeling upset, it's called 'The Five W's' and it always helps me feel better...
1. Your Bearing is Missing a Spring

What happens when the Fullmetal crew is living a normal life, just like ordinary students in Bradley High? Well…actually a lot.

Rated pg13. I don't know if I need to change it later on, because lots of weird ideas are racing through my head right about now. This is my first FMA fan fic so…flame if you must, I guess.

Your Bearing is missing a Screw

"WINRY! OPEN THE GOD DAMNED DOOR!"

Edward angrily glanced down at his pocket watch.

_Hmm. Stupid piece of crap is broken. Maybe the bitch can fix it. Oh crap this thing better be fast…and where the hell is my project? Oh shit, he IS GOING TO KILL ME…what's for breakfast anyway?_

"Winry…" Ed moaned, "PLEASE get out of there. Why don't you just EVER FUCKIN LISTEN TO A WORD I'M SAYING!" he raised his voice with every word.

"Well! Yesterday, I was fixing your car BECAUSE YOU ASKED ME TO, and since I'm so NICE I DID IT! AND NOW I HAVE AN OIL STAIN ON MY PANTS!"

_Women. And their fucking pants_.

"Crap. I give up. I can't DEAL with this anymore. I might as well just go to school NAKED FOR ALL I CARE." Ed screamed back at his angry friend behind the door.

_Wow is this possible_, he thought, as he heard the doorknob click, _the door is opening._

All of a sudden he is on the ground, a pair of jeans in his face, a sneaker that flew in the air and banged him in the eye. Edward groaned from the unexpected pain, and looked up lazily, and found Winry's angry face staring him in the eye.

"Then don't leave your FILTHY clothes in the bathroom." She said calmly, but Ed heard a demonic undertone in there. The same annoying one that Winry always used on him. She stomped angrily down the hallway, not looking once back at Ed.

Edward felt his face heating up with annoyance. Then he overlooked what had just happened. He was actually giggling quietly to himself. _Is this the pathetic life I lead every day? Waiting for my so-called roommate to get ready for just ONE day and it takes more then half an hour. _Ed started to laugh.

_Crap. I'm going crazy._

"So. Got your shoe I see."

A sarcastic tone of voice interrupted his cracked thoughts. Ed turned around, still on the floor, looking up at his brother Alphonse. He was all ready, his light brown hair neatly combed, all of his books in his hands, and holding a muffin in the other.

"Hmm." Ed greedily stared at the pastry in Al's hand. "That muffin. Did granny…bake that…?"

Al slyly grinned, and looked his brother evilly in the eye. He brought the warm muffin to his mouth and took a bite, closing his eyes with pleasure.

"OH YES." He started with his mouth full, "Auntie baked these delicious blueberry muffins in honor for the people that get up early enough to help around in the kitchen." Within a matter of long seconds, his breakfast was gone, and he was licking his fingers; Ed watching with his eyes shaking from anger. Al laughed and walked down the hall, and he unexpectedly turned around, and tossed a piece of poster board at his brother, who was still lazily sitting in front of the bathroom.

"You might need that." Alphonse yelled up the staircase.

Edward looked down at the piece of poster his brother and thrown.

_Ha. I think he is the only one I can depend on around here. Except when it comes to food._

Ed grabbed his project, and ran down the hallway shoeless, frantically searching for the other one.

­­­­­­­­

* * *

"Mr. Elric."

Silence.

"Hmm. What a surprise." Roy annoyingly placed his tardy book on the desk. "Alright class, we can get started without him, take out your homework and the Table of Elements that was due today…"

Roy jumped to a sound. The door was just furiously open, and banged quickly shut. He turned his head around and found a panting student in the doorway. Roy sighed, massaging his temples, as if trying to reduce a massive headache.

"Ed, go take a seat."

"Um. Yeah…" Ed started, nearly dropping his books on the ground. He made his way to his lab table, nearly limping, and walking out of line.

"Edward is something the matter. You're walking a little…strange." Roy noticed his unusual walking behavior. The rest of the class started to giggle.

"Eh?" Ed looked down at his feet. _Damn it. I put the shoes on the wrong feet. What the hell am I, four._

Edward took a seat on the stool, and shyly placed his feet under the table, and hoping that no one noticed, quickly changed the two shoes. Ed took a glance at his left leg, noticing that it was also responsible for the way he was walking today; he groaned at the inconvenience. He already started to glance at the clock; he was only 6 minutes late.

_I don't need to friggin be here…just a waste of time…_he began to yawn.

"Edward." A stern voice broke the silence.

"Yes…! Mr. Mustang." Ed quickly said, as though memorized by thought. All he was thinking about was trying to get back to sleep.

"I asked you a question. Name the alkali metal with an atomic mass of 6.941 amu."

"Oh…Lithium. Sir…" Edward said without difficulty.

"Now see class, that is why we all must study as much as Mr. Elric here." Roy started, making his way towards the white board, more snickers arising from the class; Edward hid himself face down upon the table and sighed.

_PERFECT thing to say Roy. Some friend you are_.

"Anyway sorry but, we have two boards of notes to take," Roy paused after hearing the snickers turning to groans. He ruffled his jet-black hair in annoyance, and laughed.

"Oh come on you guys," he started, "Chemistry isn't going to teach itself you know."

_Wow did I doze off for that long? I just remember changing my shoes and then nothing. I didn't even hear him ask me that. Crap, everyone is still staring at me. I'm not THAT smart. Fucking bastards._

Edward started doodling crude drawings in the margin of his notebook paper. A poorly drawn stick figure with endless amounts of hair jetting out from all directions….an evil, sly smile across the round face…and then a bomb crashing in from out of nowhere.

_Heh. Bastard didn't know what was coming to him._

* * *

"Very nice…very nice…." As the teacher was observing everyone's piece of work, she paused.

"Excellent job hun. You're getting an A plus on this piece of work, no doubt."

"Eh heh…thanks granny…" Winry said quietly under her breath, not taking her eyes off of her work. She swatted a piece of annoying blonde hair that came in to her face.

"By the way," Pinako whispered in her grand daughters ear, "Ed's been limping a little lately. Make sure to check his leg after school."

"OKAY," Winry stated quickly, with an embarrassed flush on her cheeks, "I REALLY have to screw in this…screw! Okay?"

Pinako laughed, "Fine, I'll go help the guys over there," she grinned, and walked to the other side of the garage.

Winry opened her tool case, searching for her socket wrench, keeping her face down low. Winry quickly found it and took it out; it was broken. She swept her falling bandana back on to the top of her head, trying to be quiet. All of a sudden, a hand holding a small, silver spring appeared in her face. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"Here, I think you might need this." A handsome voice interrupted her thoughts.

Winry slowly looked up, and found her face to face with someone unfamiliar. He had bright, short blonde hair, his bangs swept off to the side. They covered one eye; he looked so mysterious. And he was tall. Tall and lean, with a hell of a smile.

"Um…do I know you…?" Winry started, feeling a smile grow on her jaw.

He laughed, "My name is Russell Tringum. I'm new here. I noticed that the bearing in your wrench was missing a spring, so you can have this."

"Oh…" Winry dreamily dozed off, but shut her eyes abruptly and got back to reality, taking the spring gently from his hand. "Right! Of course, haha silly me, anyways, um, welcome to Bradley!"

_Wow that was the GAYEST thing I have ever said. Ever._

Russel grinned, and turned his head, observing the garage.

"Say, are you the only girl in this class?" he asked questioningly.

"Ah…yeah, actually I am…" Winry said embarrassingly, looking down at the engine she was trying to fix.

"Well, hey I think that's pretty cool. I mean, knowing a girl that likes to fix cars and machines like that." Russel smiled. He had perfect straight, white teeth.

_Oh my God, this guy is awesome_.

"Really! Oh my God that it the first time someone ever said that to me! I mean hey, I don't want to brag or anything but I can fix a car that's been through hell's highway!" she sighed, and then quietly groaned, finally realizing what she said. She nervously grinned, darting her eyes anywhere away from his.

"Wow. I think THAT is amazing. So what's your name anyway?"

She gulped silently, "Winry Rockbell. Yeah, the teacher, she's um, my grandmother…yeah." She glanced over to her short grandmother hiding in her office, trying to take a smoke without the students witnessing her.

Silence.

_God, am I boring him to death? Damn, think of something to ask him!_

"So um, how are you liking the junior year so far…?" Winry asked to break the silence, toying the wrench from hand to hand nervously.

"Junior? Heh, um, actually I'm a sophomore."

_What the hell._

"Sophomore…!" she nearly choked, but quickly stopped herself, "Wow…um…that's shocking…?" she eyed him up and down, hoping he wouldn't notice. This sophomore was REALLY tall. And he had a handsome face, and a great smile…

_Oh crap I'm getting the hots for a guy that's younger then me. Gross…_

"WELL! This was fun and all, but this engine REALLY needs to be..!"

_No, stupid it's fine, keep talking! There's nothing wrong with the engine._

"…oiled! It needs to be oiled!" she nervously laughed.

_What the hell are you TALKING about?_ Her conscience asked. Winry looked up to Russell who was still grinning, and he was looking in to her eyes. He had dark beautiful eyes…

"Sure, you can get your oiling done," he started to turn around, and ever so quickly, Winry noticed a wink.

_Oh God, she eyed the back of him. Levis…_

* * *

"Mr. Armstrong bragged on about how the famous artwork was passed down for GENERATIONS," Alphonse did his famous impression of the overly obsessed art teacher.

Ed laughed, pizza still in his mouth, "I told you not to apply for drawing and painting, Mr. Armstrong is friggin nuts! He's as big as a house, yet he's in the arts department, its insane."

It was around 11:45 and the last lunch was being served. Edward, Alphonse, and Winry were sitting outside at the picnic table, quickly finishing their lunches.

"Yeah, well I don't care about the teacher really, I just wanna try and learn how to draw, you know? Like how mom did, she always had these nice paintings…" Al trailed off slowly. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two brothers; Al nervously took a long sip from his chocolate milk.

Edward paused and placed the slice of pepperoni pizza down upon the tray. Then a smile broke through the frown, "Yeah. She was a nice painter. But I think you're still better in the science field. I tried the arts," he laughed, "AND I SUCK."

Al laughed. He looked over and noticed Winry wasn't eating her salad. He picked up the spork near her napkin and poked her annoyingly in the shoulder.

"Winry…Winry…Winry….hello.."

"Huh?" she sighed, "Oh, nothing." She was staring through the glass window on the side of the school.

The brothers exchanged confused looks.

"Um, he didn't ask you anything, what the hell is wrong with you today. Still upset about your stupid pants."

Winry glanced over to Ed. He was surprised not to see an angry glare, but more of a glassy eyed looked, as if she just woke up from some sort of drugged dream.

"Jesus, I'm not going to even bother." Edward shook his head, and started to pick up his tray and leave the table. Alphonse wondered what was going on inside her head. Then again, he never understood girls. They were just overall weird. Like the pants incident that morning.

"Hey Al, did you see a new guy in any of your classes?"

"Eh?" Alphonse pondered for a brief moment, "Hmm….actually yes, there's this new guy in my biology honors class, what's his name…" Al trailed off slowly, his face breaking out in to glee.

"HA! This is priceless." Alphonse laughed, "You think he's hot or something, don't you. Got a thing for tall men, now do we now?" He grinned.

Winry's dreamy expression all of a sudden broke out into rage and confusion, "What! I never said that! Russell isn't that tall!"

_Oh God…_

Al laughed, "Wow, and all this time I thought you had something for Ed."

"One more crack like that, and I SMACK YOU IN THE FACE!" she screamed angrily grasping the plastic spork in her clenched fist.

Al giggled off in to silence, "Well fine then," he grabbed the vanilla pudding that Winry left, "Fix the quad and I won't say anything."

"Fine."

"Thanks!" he grinned, and walked off with his tray, leaving Winry at the table. She sighed, looking back through the glass window to her side, watching Russell alone at the table.

_Hmm, must suck being a new kid. You should go talk to him_, her conscience was asking.

_No._

_Why the hell not?_

_He's a sophomore that's why, I don't need to go and get a reputation ruined now._

_What, like it's not been ruined enough._

_Shut up, that's over. I forget about the past, unlike you, you stupid bitch._

_Hey, you were the one that told me he had a nice ass._

Winry banged her fists against the wooden table, awakening the argument between herself. She forcefully grabbed her salad tray and made her way to the building, frowning the whole way.

* * *

Well, was the first chapter ok? I'll have chapter two up later, please R&R! sorry if its crappy though O.o Just to inform, this story will be long if you want to continue


	2. Sensei Knows Best

Title:The Five W's

Summary: Many things are stirring up in Bradley High. After Winry meets a new boy in school named Russell, something happens to her that will change her life. Edward is trying to keep his violent grudge low against his father, and meanwhile, Al is hiding a terrible, dark secret...

Chapter 2:Sensei Knows Best

Rated: T for now, but not necessarily for young teens. I may need to change the rating to M.

Warnings: Strong language, sexual references (NO LEMONS), blood, maybe some violence might be there later

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, even though I wish I did.

_Winry/Ed, Riza/Roy_

_Please R&R ! thank you 3_

* * *

_Whoa. God damn I feel dizzy...am I swearing…who are you again?_

_I think you should just go back now; it's getting late, a mysterious figure stated calmly._

_Oh? Yeah…oh my aching head._

_A large hill. A train just went by, going down a dark hole, is that train going to hell? Those screams…_

_How did I get up this hill so quickly? And where are those other guys? I hope Mom has some medicine, I think I'm sick…_

_What's that smell? Is that my house?_

_Oh God, my house is on fire._

_I can't run._

_I am so confused…Mom…Ed…where are you?_

_Don't worry; no one will know…this figure was back. He was grinning evilly._

_Who are you?_

_Al…Alphonse_…Al WAKE UP!

"What?"

Al found himself on his bed, gasping,his fevered brow covered in sweat; he was grasping his sheets tightly. He looked around quickly, and saw Ed looming over the bed, confused. He was just simply standing there in his boxers and in an over sized System of a Down t-shirt. He had obviously just woken up.

"Are you all right? I heard you screaming something about a train, so I came in…?" Ed took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"I just had a dream." Alphonse stated quickly, trying not to look up at Ed. He finally propped himself up and sat against the pillow and took a long sigh, "This train, it was just…very loud…" he rubbed his head; he had a horrible headache.

Edward grabbed the hair tie around his wrist, and began to intertwin a long, golden braid, "Well, yeah it must have been, you woke up Winry too. By the way, you should get your hair cut, your bangs are getting long…"

Alphonse didn't respond. He was looking down nervously, twiddling his fingers uncontrollably.

"Ed?" he asked quietly, glancing over to the clock on his nightstand. It was almost 6:30 AM; normally they would be up getting ready for the day.

"Hmm?" Edward just finished his braid, and started to flatten out his bangs.

"Did it hurt?"

Ed paused.

"What?" he asked confusingly.

"You know…" Alphonse's voice began to shake.

Ed looked up at the ceiling and began to think, and then his eyes widened, "Oh…you mean my arm and leg?" He glanced over to his brother with concern in his eyes, wondering why he was asking that question again.

Al nodded nervously.

Ed began to laugh, "Well, sure it did, but I don't see what the big deal is now, it's all over…I just want the god damned school to shut up about it…" Edward started to mumble something about being a cripple.

"Your not the only one in the world with fake limbs Ed, don't get so freaked out about it." Alphonse said quietly.

"I'm the only one in the world with machines", he whispered to himself, hoping Al wouldn't hear him.

Edward sighed, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "I can't believe you used to be friends with that god damned poser."

"Who are you talking about?" Al was wondering why he had changed the subject.

Edward used his fingers as quotation marks, " Envy…perfect nickname for that bastard, posers should all die…I can't wait till he leaves next year, if he even graduates."

Al's eyes began to widen; he quickly looked down again.

"He wasn't that bad," Alphonse started.

Edward snorted, "Ha! Not that bad? He's a druggie Al! He's probably gonna die from a heroin overdose, let alone the fumes from his hairspray…making his hair all crazy like that…shit." Ed trailed off in to completely different subjects. He began to massage his right shoulder, and rotating the socket, as if trying to get out a cramp.

"Is it going to rain today?" Al asked quietly, looking at Ed's shoulder.

"Maybe." Edward started, "My knee is sore too. The weather lately is fucked up, I'll tell you that…"

* * *

_Oh come on! I cant be late, I CAN'T._

Winry fumbled with her locker door with one hand, holding her tool case in the other. She couldn't afford to be late…but the question was, why did she all of a sudden want to get there early? Granny never really did get mad at her for being 5 seconds late.

_That's because you want to see you know who._

_Shut up._

"God damn…" Winry whispered to herself, "I REALLY need to stop doing that."

She slammed her locker door and gasped. Just on the other side was the pale face of someone she did not enjoy seeing. She was leaning against the row of blue lockers, with her right foot propped up against the doors, crossing her arms, and facing the floor.

"Good morning Winry," the sultry voice asked.

"Yes, it is a nice morning," Winry said angrily, not taking her eyes off of her tool case, "I better be going, it reeks of sex around here."

"I know what's troubling you. Boys, isn't it?"

"You know, you can spell "Lust" and slut with the same letters?" Winry sneered and walked the other way. She heard the footsteps in heels slowly following her.

"I can help you," Lust said eagerly.

Winry turned around on the balls of her heels.

_Don't take help from her, are you crazy? Don't you remember what she said about you?_

"Why should someone like you help me." Winry said, staring her in her dark eyes.

Lust flipped her thick, dark hair elegantly, "My, you are still angry about that aren't you?"

"Who wouldn't be? The only thing that I'm not angry about is the fact that you will be leaving this year. And I laugh at the fact that you will one day die horribly from STDS." Winry grinned.

Lust laughed, "My, that is funny. But I really do want to apologize, if it bothers you that much."

"Yeah right."

Lust shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest, obviously trying to show off her cleavage. She was wearing a blacklow-neck corset type tank that was tied loosely up the center, with red lace along the neckline.She was also wearing low waist, skintight jeans, and hooker heels. Winry winced at the pain that was being brought to her eyes.

"Well then, I just won't apologize." She grinned.

"Fine by me," Winry turned around again and stomped quickly down the hallway.

_Perfect…now I'm really gonna be late…_

"How IS Edward doing in bed these days, hmm?" her voice ended the feuding silence.

Winry dropped her tool case. She ignored the fact that all her tools flew aimlessly all over the hall, and that a large wrench landed on her toe.

"YOU BITCH!" She screamed. Winry violently turned around.

No one was there. All she saw were heads of students popping out from the doors. They had heard the crash from the box she had dropped, and now they were all staring at her, confused; some were laughing.

_Where the hell did she go?_

"I don't care," Winry turned around and said to herself, "If only I took my screw driver out sooner, I could have popped those things she calls boobs…"

* * *

"My name is Miss Hawkeye, I will be your substitute gym teacher for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, Mr. Hughes is on vacation and spending time with his family," the teacher took out a flip book of pictures out of her pocket, all of the same little girl with pig tails, "And is expecting me to tell you all about his daughter Elysia…but none of that. We do gym, and I intend it to be that way." She placed the flipbook back in to her pocket, took the silver whistle and gave it a shrieking blow. The students got up after their warm-up, and made their way to the court.

Edward eyed his substitute. She had a fair face, with blonde hair tied back in to a tight, low bun, bangs sharply falling to the side of her face. She looked very serious, calm, cool, and collected, and she was also very young. Her eyes completed her look, a gentle, and mahogany brown. And that body…

"Getting a crush on the substitute I see?" Al interrupted Ed's thoughts. He was sitting next to his brother, alone on the bleachers, writing his name with a permanent marker on his school gym shorts.

"Shut up. I can already tell, she looks good, but she is GOING to be a bitch. All that matters is that we won't have to listen to Mr. Hughes talk about Elysia all day…" Edward wasn't wearing his uniform. First of all it was too big, second of all he hated gym. It was probably his worst class.

Alphonse laughed, "Actually, come to think of it, Roy is probably going to flip when he figures out there's a new female substitute in the building."

Edward smirked, "Hell yeah he is. Remember when Clara became the nurse?" He began to laugh.

Alphonse joined in with the humor, "Who can forget that, he went there every day because 'his throat hurt and he wanted a cough drop.'"

The brother's continued with their joking, but a shadow suddenly overlooked them. They both looked up slowly and found Miss Hawkeye standing in front of them, holding a red, rubber ball. She was paying particular attention to Ed.

"Edward Elric right?" she asked patiently, while he nervously nodded, "I got some interesting notes about you from Mr. Hughes. Don't enjoy gym much, huh?" she began bouncing the ball from hand to hand, expecting an answer.

Edward glanced over to his brother, who was laughing inside.

"Ah…I just don't enjoy sports much, is all." He grinned, making himself comfortable on the bleachers.

"You are Alphonse, his brother I assume?" she pointed to Al. He nodded, and noticing her hand gesture to get out on court, he did so. Ed watched as he ran over to the center of the court with all the other students, and heglanced athis brotherwho was lookingback at him mouthing 'Good luck.' Ed groaned.

"Now," she quietly whispered, "I know it's sudden for me to say this, but I understand…" she paused.

"Hmm?" he asked, patient ears attending. He loved it when teachers tried to talk about his arm and leg around him. It made them so uncomfortable. He didn't understand why they just wouldn't say it.

"…your conditions." She filled in appropriately. Ed shook his head slowly from side to side, and added a humorous sigh.

"Is that why you choose not to participate in this class?" she asked, still with a quiet voice. Ed sat himself upright, almost face to face with his teacher, as though he was about to tell her something important.

"Nah. I just don't like sports." His voice was stern.

Miss Hawkeye's brow frowned at Ed's expression. 'He is trying way to hard to pull off a bad ass look,' she thought, and smiled to herself.

"Well, tell you what. You don't have to put your uniform on, I would just like to see you get out there and play some dodge ball with the rest of the class. It wouldn't hurt to try." She paused; Ed's expression still didn't change much.

"You realize you are failing this class terribly. You should be in your low 20's but I think Mr. Hughes is just being to soft on you." She smirked, hoping that would change his mind.

Suddenly, Ed grabbed the ball from her hands; Miss Hawkeye's eyes widened in shock. Then he began to bounce the ball from hand to hand, with good precision, as if he knew how to handle it well.

"Fine," he added, "I'll play…but if I don't like it, I'm just sitting right back down." He added a sly smirk with his harsh tone, and made his way out to the court.

Miss Hawkeye watched the class carefully pick teammates, and she noticed that Ed was picked last; the captain was still not too happy. The expression on Ed's face still hadn't changed, but she was able to tell that he wasn't too happy about it either.

She sighed, _What a troubled boy._

The gym class slowly proceeded on with their game, red balls flying aimlessly around the gymnasium. Most likely you would hear 'He hit me in the head!' or 'you're out bastard!'

Very quickly, many team mates were being hit, and heading back towards the bleachers, cheering for their friends that have survived. Miss Hawkeye was watching the students that remained on the court. She noticed that Al and Ed were still present, and some other athletic students that were showing off their skills. She tried not to pay any attention to Edward, who eventually got to the point where he was the last survivor on his team. All he had been doing was simply standing, and fiddling with his pocket watch; no one had bothered trying to hit him.

"Come on Elric, pick up the ball and chuck it already!" he heard a voice from the bleachers. He finally glanced down at the floor, noticing that he had many opportunities to just get some one out. He looked on the other side of the court; his brother and few of the many students he hated. Edward glanced over to Al, who wasn't paying much attention to the game either, so he just ignored him.

_Great…I'm doing this all by my self…and now I gotta get those bastards out…_

Edward ignored the screams from the people in the bleachers; and winced at the fact that he heard 'shorty' somewhere. He bent down and gently picked up a ball; it wasn't even inflated all the way.

_Damn…now they go make it more difficult for me._

He carefully eyed his opponents; they were all holding balls, ready for him to make a starting move. Ed paid attention to one large student on the other side, holding two balls. He thought he looked like tough shit, but he was the best target. His body mass was bigger then most; if he tried leaping it would be a challenge because he would most likely jump to dodge the attack.

_Jump…? Hmm, there's something useful_...he raised an eyebrow in concentration.

"Come on shorty, throw the ball at me already. You want the glory, don't you?" the student sneered in his face across the court. Ed cracked his real knuckles and even winced at the pain he was bringing towards himself.

Edward eyed where the student's feet were in position. A little more then hip width apart.

_Where is he leaning…_

To the right; ready to at least attempt a leap. Ed kept his eyes on the floor ahead of him.

Grasping the ball tightly in his left hand,

He swung his arm slowly back behind him.

_Eat this bastard._

The students gasped. Al's face filled with glee, as he gave a thumbs up to his brother.

The ball hit the student with great force, right where Edward had targeted. Instead of aiming for the floor at his feet, he faked it up towards the right; directly on his knee. It had hit thereright as he tried jumping to the right, just like Ed had planned. The student was on the floor, either in pain or complete shock. He had dropped the two balls that he had been holding earlier.

Miss Hawkeye's eyes were still wide. She shockingly glared at Edward. This student just said he had hated sports. He obviously knew what he was doing.

"Lucky shot!' the students were yelling from the bleachers. The other kid that Edward had knocked out was basically limping back, seating himself with his friends.

Ed smirked; his brother still smiling. Edward looked back to the other side, and noticed about 4 other 'tough jocks.' Each of them was holding a ball. Ed was weaponless, but he still had a positive look on his smug face. All of a sudden, a ball forcefully left a hand…

Caught.

_Another one coming…_

It.

_Why do they even bother?_

Every.

_Last one…_

Time.

Edward wasn't surprised to hear gasps from the crowd. He glanced over at Miss Hawkeye, who was quite surprised herself. She smiled at him, and quietly clapped for his small victory.

All that was left was Al. Edward smirked and picked up the last ball that he had caught, toying it from hand to hand. Al winked, and readied in to a position.

"FDA." Ed said to his brother on the other side, and threw the ball.

Al was quickly out of the game, after he had been forcefully hit in the right arm. Al was still holding on to his forearm, and rubbing the pain away. Ignoring the fact, he smiled over towards his victorious brother.

No body had clapped or cheered. Either they were in complete shock Edward had won the entire game…or they were jealous of his accomplishment. Ed looked out towards the bleachers; everyone was still staring, and he watched Alphonse make his way towards the teacher, and they began to quietly talk. Edward simply shrugged, put his hands in his pockets, and simply walked off the court, all eyes still on him.Just as he made his way past the line, the bell rang.

"Ed!" Alphonse was following him towards the locker room.

Ed turned around without saying a word. He noticed that Al was still lightly rubbing the red mark on his arm. He felt pretty bad that he hit him that hard…

"Miss Hawkeye was SO amazed. She even asked me to ask you if you wanted to be on the soccer team."

"Why?" he lazily asked.

"You have a great catch, I don't know why you can't notice that! Sensei tells you that all the time, when she throws random things at you. And for the soccer team thing, you would be a great goalie."

"Nah." Ed simply stated, "Sports aren't my thing. I'd rather stick with karate for now…" He made his way towards his locker door, ignoring the foul smells of the locker room

Alphonse began to take off his shirt, and open his door, which was right next to Ed's, and took out his duffle bag. He changed in silence, and watched Ed fiddle around with his silver watch.

"Looks like FDA really worked out there," Alphonse said as he put his converse on.

"Yeah…focus…determine…accelerate. Sensei knows best." Edward smiled.

* * *

Yay that was chapter two! i hope you liked it, who knew ed could kick so much ass in dodgeball hahaha. chapter 3 will be on next week,

PLEASE REVIEW! puppy dog eyes


	3. With Lots of Red

Here's chapter three people! Thanks so much for the reviews, and actually even reading it, heh.

Just to inform you, this chapter is a little long, and there is a pointless part (the pranking on the phone) but I put that in there to just show how good of freinds Winry and Ed are lol

Also, in my story, even if it takes place in modern day, Ed does have "automail", not really artifical limbs.(so its not really EXACLTY modern, a little fantasy in there too lol)I left it like that because...I really don't know much about artifical limbs . (even though i know someone with a fake leg, and he does have some sort of "casing" around it, so that's why i mention that in there, just in case you are wondering that while you read) Of course Winry and Pinako invented the whole automail deal in my story, so he is pretty much the only one...ever...that has mechanical limbs, that's why he suffers from peer pressure, heh.The automail becomes siginificant towards the end, if you plan on finishing it.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW THANK YOU SO MUCH! heh

* * *

With Lots of Red

"Ed, get your ass back here!"

"WINRY SHUT UP MY LEG IS FINE!" Edward hid on the staircase. He looked behind him, making sure she wasn't there. EVERY time he had her look at his leg or arm, she would freak out and get to obsessive about it, and think of all these other crazy things she would want to do to it. Noticing that she obviously wasn't upstairs, he let out a relived sigh, only to find her right in front of him.

_Dammit._

"Ed, you're acting like a baby. I'm only taking a look, I promise I won't do anything else!" she yelled up the stairs.

Edward groaned, "I'd rather be a baby anyway, they don't have to do anything,"

He slid down one stair,

"Like homework,"

He slid down the next,

"Or look for their shoes,"

And the next…

"Or PLAY GYM,"

Eventually he was sitting on the last stair, an angry mechanic staring him in the eye. With the wrench she held in her hand, she lightly tapped it annoyingly on his head.

He winced, but with surprise, "Why aren't you hitting me harder like you always do?" he gestured her to stop.

"Cause I'm in a jolly mood today," she grinned widely.

"Hmm, that sounds good to me."

"DON'T RUIN IT." She said menacingly, pointing the wrench back in to his fear stricken face.

* * *

"Damn! What have you been doing?" Winry observed his left leg with great precision.

The flesh colored casing was now removed, exposing the running mechanics and metal inside. Some parts were dented, and some parts obviously needed repairing; it was just in overall bad shape.

"Well hmm," Ed started, looking up at the ceiling, "I played dodge ball today." He smirked.

"Don't get smart with me," Winry started to pull his pants leg back down, and took out a long piece of string from her pocket. She lightly grasped it between her hands, and gently, started to measure up Edward's leg, counting at each pause she needed to take.

"Huh. We need to replace it anyway, seems you've grown some since last time we checked," she placed he string back in her pocket, and started to put her tools away.

Ed lifted his left leg and placed it on his right knee, and sighed deeply. He ran his fingers across the cool metal, which intertwined with the red and blue wires. He moved his leg ever so gently, watching it glisten and shine from the lights above him. This was part of him; a man made machine. He was probably the only one in the world to possess these wonderful limbs; only a special talented mechanic could make them for him. He was so lucky to have friends that care for him, making him unique; special.

He moved his toes, watching the mechanisms do their magic as he was telling them to do so. Pivot my ankle around, I can do it. Bend my knee, no problem. But even though he appreciated them, he would always ask himself,

_Why me?_

He did not know, but Winry was watching. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him every time he felt this way. She loved fixing his arm and leg, and she loved machines, and anything that smelled of oil. She didn't want to brag, but she was a good mechanic and inventor; her grandmother couldprove that with her grades, and of course, Ed's limbs couldprove it too...But she couldn't compare with him. She didn't own those limbs; she truly didn't know how they affected a person. Sometimes she wished that she could own those, to see what the wonders of machines can do for her very self. But she watches Edward. She knows he appreciates everything she has possibly done for him…but yet, he still wishes.

_I'm sorry Ed._

The two sat in uncomfortable silence; Winry was quietly replacing the beige casting that hid his leg's wonders. She loved to think to herself that one day, just one day, he would be brave enough to expose her beautiful creations. But she would put herself in that position. No, it just wasn't right. He was tortured enough by people for his troubles.

"I hate doing this," Edward finally stated firmly. He was referring to the attaching of the mechanisms to his nerves; it would happen every time he needed it replaced. Winry frowned.

"We don't have to do it now, if you don't want to." She finally stood, grasping her toolbox firmly in her gloved hand. She walked off without a word, leaving Ed alone.

He sighed, and leaned back in to his chair. He began kicking his legs back and forth, like a nervous child. Just now, he felt like a nervous child. Not wanting to get things over with; procrastinating them for later, so they can linger in his thoughts to make him worry more. The only thing he was hoping was that he didn't insult his talented friend.

"Thanks…" he murmured softly to himself.

* * *

Winry sighed, getting back to her homework. It was Friday night; Ed was getting ready for bed, Al was upstairs, Granny was still at the garage grading everyone's engines. She, however, was sitting alone at the dining table, a dim light above her. It was getting late and she was tired; she was working on Ed's new leg the whole night. She nervously tapped her pencil upon the wooden table; she hated math. Maybe Ed could help her; he always got A's in math.

Subtract 24 from both sides…is that a negative…? No, wait the sign turns around when you divide that…crap…why do I even bother?

"You're supposed to ADD a positive to a negative to make it equal zero. Otherwise, you'll never get y alone."

Winry glanced to her side where she heard Ed's voice. He had just gotten out of his shower, his hair was down and damp, and he was merely standing in his boxers, looking over her shoulder at her horrible math.

Winry blushed and turned away, "Ed! How can you have the nerve to just stand there half naked!"

He laughed, grabbing a chair from across the table, "Hey, technically I do live here; I can do whatever I want." He took a seat and picked up her Algebra book, flipping through the pages. He had a confused look in his golden eyes.

"You're STILL in Algebra?" he asked questioningly.

Winry looked down, almost embarrassed to admit, "They had to hold me back," but her face lightened up to hide her stupidity, "Cause I suck!" she grinned.

He was still flipping; his hand rubbed his chin as her observed the problems. He was in deep thought.

What a weirdo. Who can stare at math problems and enjoy it?

"Not everyone is in calculus already." Winry broke his concentration. He looked up from that book.

"Well why don't you just ask for help?" he asked, "I'm right across the hall." His voice had concern.

Winry looked down at her problems. There were countless doodles of cars all over the margins, and drawings of tools. Millions of scribbles and angry faces were covering her mistakes. She sighed.

"You have to think of other things besides fixing things Winry," Ed quietly laughed.

"Well you have to stop thinking about science and math you chemistry freak!" Winry unexpectedly yelled across the table. She paused and silently gasped. She glared at Edward's shocked face.

"Wow." He finally said.

"I'm sorry…! I didn't mean, I mean, I didn't want it to sound that way…!"

He began to laugh.

The expression on Winry's face became annoyed, "What is so funny." Her voice was stern.

"Wow," he repeated, humor in his voice, "I never thought PMS could be that bad." He was still laughing.

Winry leaned back in her chair, her face full of surprise. She looked back at how she just acted; was she that bitchy sometimes? She also began to giggle.

The two sat, laughing for a while, and soon it engaged in to more humorous conversation, like gossip, or the teachers. Time flew quickly by. Winry still hadn't finished past the third problem.

"There's a sophomore in your chemistry class?" Winry asked shockingly.

"Yeah, I don't know who the hell he thinks he is! He thinks he's all tough shit, acting all smart for everyone," Ed snorted.

Winry paused.

"Wait…was he…kinda tall?" Winry asked, her eyebrow rose suspicously.

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M SHORT!" Ed rose from his chair, slamming his hands upon the table.

Winry laughed, "And you think I get in bad moods."

Ed slowly sat back down and slumped in to his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, "Hmmph…yes…friggin kid is younger then me…shit," he grumbled.

All of a sudden, the phone rang, making the angry Edward jump. Winry rolled her eyes and got up from her chair to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hello, is this the Rockbell residence?"

Winry put the mouth of the phone upon her shoulder to block out the noise, "It's a telemarketer!" she whispered loudly over to Ed.

Ed all of a sudden started to scream. Winry was trying to hold in her laughs as she watched him bang his fists upon the table, and started to make choking noises. Winry uncovered the mouth of the phone to let all the horrible noise go through. All of a sudden she snapped back, "Johnny! Put down that knife!"

"Never!" he got up from his chair and made his way towards Winry; she was still trying to desperately hold in her laughs. She was clutching her sides, still keeping the phone in the air. They could quietly hear a faint, "Hello? What's going on?" from the phone.

"Johnny no!" she screamed.

Edward ran up to Winry and grabbed her around the waist playfully and started to shake her, she began to scream, with laughs in the background. Edward took the phone and brought it closer to his mouth, still holding her tightly, "I'M GOING TO RAPE YOU AND THEN KILL YOU!" he started to evilly laugh. Winry did one final scream, and fell on the floor, laughing hysterically.

Edward, also laughing, finally took a long sigh, bringing the phone to his ear, expecting to hear no one there. He heard laughter.

"Eh…this person didn't hang up…?" he stated, almost sounding scared.

"What the hell…?" Winry got up and grabbed the phone from his hand, and asked shakily, "Hello?"

"Wow Winry, I never knew you could sound that convincing. You should try acting."

_OH…MY…GOD._

"Russell!" she loudly gasped, fumbling the phone, "IS THAT YOU?"

Russell laughed on the other side of the phone, "Heh, yeah actually it is…um, can I ask what was going on? By the way, I'm sorry I'm calling so late."

Edward butted in, an angry look upon his face, "What the hell is THAT SOPHOMORE doing calling us SO LATE." He crossed his arms, repeating Russell's words.

"Shut up!" she hissed, scaring him away with the waving of her arm. He snorted and sat back down.

"Oh God Russell, I'm sorry I scared you, I thought you were a business person cause no one really asks for a residence, and you are kind of calling late, and so me and my friend, yeah we kind of um tried to scare you, and I guess it didn't scare you--!" she explained way to quickly. Ed shook his head, still angry.

"Whoa, take a breather there," Russell chuckled, "I understand, me and my brother used to do things like that," he paused, "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."

Winry's face lit up and she began to lightly blush, "Really!" she asked excitedly.

Edward's eyes widened, watching Winry's expression.

"Well, we knew each other for about two weeks so far, and I think it's ok for me to ask you…"

"Yes…!" she managed to squeak over the phone.

Silence.

"Would you like to go to homecoming with me?" he asked in the most handsome voice.

Winry's legs felt like rubber; she felt like she was floating on Cloud 9, "Of course I will!" she eagerly accepted, doing a small dance. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to look to heaven, and she was quietly mouthing 'Thank you!' She ended with a simple, "I'll see you Monday!" and she finally hung up the phone ever so lightly. She sighed a long, dreamy sigh, and began to hug herself. Only then she stopped when she noticed an annoyed Edward tapping his foot continuously on the floor.

"PLEASE don't tell me you just told that sophomore that you would go to homecoming with him." He slyly grinned.

Winry's smile turned upside down; she gasped.

"Ed…!" she choked. "Oh God, what have I done," she repeated over and over. She sat upon the chair, her head in her hands. But then again…

_Levis!_

She let out a quick breath of air, "No worries! I mean hey, we hang out with Al all the time, and he's a sophomore, what's there to worry about?" she widely grinned while she sat back down in her chair.

_What the hell is WRONG with her tonight? WAY to moody for me to handle. Wait…she's going to homecoming with RUSSELL?_

Edward glanced over to Winry across the table, who was humming to herself, and bobbing her headside to side.She was quickly getting back to her homework; her cerulean eyes full of happiness.. But why didn't HE feel happy for her?

A faint,fearful gasp pierced the silence.

Winry dropped her pencil, a shocked look upon her; her face no longer excited. Edward's eyes widened, as he gestured her to keep quiet. They listened again; a drop of sweat began to fall down Winry's brow. She helpingly glanced at Edward, who slowly got up from the table, looking at the ceiling.

"It came from upstairs," he quietly whispered. They only person that was in the house that night besides Ed and Winry, was Alphonse.

"Al!" he yelled through the ceiling, "Alphonse, are you okay?" he made his way towards the staircase. He sounded worried; his voice began to shake.

"Don't come up!" a frightened voice yelled down from upstairs. Ed paused and felt a cold bead of sweat run down his brow; Winry was still sitting at the table, with a scared looked in her eye.

"I spilled paint, sorry!" Al quickly yelled again; Edward groaned, letting out a long sigh.

"Dammit, you scared the SHIT out of us Al!" Ed angrily screamed back up the stairs. Winry sighed and rolled her eyes; she was still sitting in the kitchen, wondering why he was painting at this hour.

* * *

_"Aw jeez, the third floor bathroom isn't open."_

_Alphonse was wandering around the halls, searching frantically for an open bathroom. If only there won't so many smokers in this school, they wouldn't have to worry about guarding the stupid doors, and locking them, and…oh what the heck, he thought._

_He looked towards the stairs he was walking towards, but took a glance down the hallway to his right. The elevator. Hmm._

_Al pressed the button down, dancing slowly side to side. He should have went this morning…_

_Slowly the doors opened, and he sprinted in to the corner. He attempted to jump quickly back out._

_"Hey don't be scared cutie."_

_Alphonse watched frighteningly as he glared at the ghost white hand that reached towards a button. The doors slowly shut. This was going to be a long ride down._

_Al began to cough from the smoke that was clouding up the small space._

_"So," Envy started, blowing out a long breath of smoke, "How's life. Mine sucks, as usual." He smiled. Today he was wearing a black BAM hoodie and some other skate clothes. Just a while ago he was in Ecko, hanging out with ghetto wannabes._

_Al didn't answer. He had also stopped pacing side to side. He forgot he had to desperately take care of business._

_"Yes, you must still be feeling upset, I mean, who wouldn't be?" Envy leaned in the right corner of the elevator, and looked over to Al, who was standing on the other side, "I wouldn't stand there if I were you. Two people fucked over there." He began to silently laugh._

_Al inched over a foot or two. What was taking this ride so long?_

_Envy threw the cigarette on the floor and stepped upon it, crushing out its flame. Obviously he wasn't aware of the fact that he had the perfect chance to make the elevator ignite in flames._

_"Hey, but you know what works for me when I'm feeling blue?" he slowly took out a pocketknife from the pocket of his sweatshirt; Al's eyes widened as he watched Envy roll up his sleeve._

_Envy used the pocketknife to violently open a new pack of cigarettes he was hiding up the sleeve, and smirked, "I like to paint." He began to caress his pale arm, smiling. Alphonse's eyes shook as he noticed Envy's forearm._

_"With lots of red," Envy continued, " Something like, oh, I don't know, a fire."_

_Alphonse gulped. He began to feel very hot. The doors were opening. He literally jumped out from the corner._

_"By the way cutie," Envy said out to Alphonse, fiddling with a long strand of his hair, "Happy October 3."_

A silent tear rolled down his cheek. He winced, glancing at his sketch. He wasn't sure if he wanted to paint anymore. But…he did feel better. And a painting should always be finished.

* * *

how was it ! PLEASE REVIEW I NEED SUPORT TO CONTINUE! lol. but chapter 4 will be on as soon as i can get it on. yay. yes the end of this chapter is a little scary..heh


	4. And a trace amount of 15 other Elements

Ok, here's chapter 4!

Ok yes, thank you for the reviews people! I feel so happy, even though it's 7, and I've seen so many more, but I'm surprised people are gonna read this anyway.

Yeah, in my comments, I noticed alot of people are holding a grudge against "envy" heh, and you probably all think he's my least favorite. WEll actually, he's one of my all time favorite. But for some reason, I just see him as "that school druggie" If you all want to know, Envy is a REALLY important charectar in this story. What he said to Al is very important, and he will be in there later. Lust is kind of important, but has to do more with Winry's side of the story I guess. The other homunculi might be in here, but I'm not to sure yet. Also, I guess in Bradley High, reputation is important. That's why Ed makes a big deal over Russell, and homecoming, and etc.

Please R&R! thanks

* * *

...And a trace amount of 15 other Elements

"Something…important…today."

Edward was quietly mumbling to himself while standing in front of the bathroom mirror. It was Monday morning, and like any other morning, he was getting ready for hell. His hair was down, and a mess; he accidentally left it in a braid when he slept and there were girly waves all over. He over all looked dead that morning. And worst of all, he couldn't remember what was sheepishly lingering in the back of his mind. Someone told him to do something today; it was supposedly important.

He stared at himself through his tired, golden eyes, in deep thought.

"Why can't you remember, STUPID," he said as he was opening the medicine cabinet. He was searching for his razor, looking behind millions of Winry's creams and ointments, and noticed it wasn't there. He could have sworn he left it there, but he didn't let it bother him, his face wasn't that bad… 

_"Finally, BED." Edward said to himself happily as he plopped himself on to his warm mattress, and pulled the comforter over himself. It was last Friday, after he was pretty much up that whole night helping Winry with her homework._

_He only dozed off for about five minutes before the phone rang again._

"_Why do people like TO CALL SO LATE!" he meant for that to stay inside his head, but he ended up screaming it, hoping he didn't wake anybody. He threw the blankets off; kicking his way through the hundreds of sheets he never remembered being there. The phone rang about three times; he was getting annoyed._

_He finally fell out of his bed and crawled over to the phone at his nightstand, and finally grabbed it,_

_"WHO THE HELL IS THIS!" _

_He heard laughing. Familiar laughing._

"_Roy, I told you to NEVER call this late…EVER." Edward said sternly._

"_Ha, I'm sorry Ed," Roy laughed on the other line, finally taking a breath, "I couldn't call during the day, I was busy correcting everybody's horrible tests. Of course you did fine."_

"_Hmm, what a surprise, "Mr. Mustang"," Ed replied with a sarcastic tone._

_Roy groaned, "God, it bothers me to hear you say that, I've known you since you were born…" he trailed off, and cleared his throat, being cautious not to get off track like that again._

"_Anyhow," he used the stern voice he always used in the classroom, "I need a favor from you."_

"_What." Ed asked annoyingly._

"_On Monday, Mr. Bradley is coming to observe the classes," Roy paused noticing that Ed hadn't replied in any way._

"_Doesn't that name ring a bell." Roy stated angrily._

"_Yeah, whatever, the school is named after him, so what," Ed was rubbing his drooping eyes, he wanted TO SLEEP._

"_He's the superintendent, and he's coming TO MY CLASS. And I'm asking you to behave. Also, to make it look good, we're going to be talking about the human components and the chemistry of the body…"_

_Ed grinned to himself, "No problem, that stuff is easy."_

"_NO rude remarks, absolutely NO SWEARING," Roy continued on with an endless list of Ed's flaws in the classroom._

"_And of course I still have to call you Edward to sound professional." Roy added. Ed could tell he was smirking on the other end._

"_Same goes to me with "Mr. Mustang" of course," Ed smiled, adding a yawn at the end, "Fine, I guess I won't talk, just don't call on me, or brag to the class about how GREAT I am, I hateit when you do that." He yawned again, scratching his head._

_Ed realized the yawns had became contagious, as he heard Roy's long yawn at the end. There was a pause; Ed was twiddling the spiral cord of the phone._

"_Did you get any news from him." Edward finally asked, calmly, but with an angry undertone._

"_I'm sorry, no, I haven't heard from Hohenheim lately." Roy stated firmly._

_Edward sighed angrily, and began to lightly kick his dresser with his left foot, shouting 'stupid' over and over again in his mind._

"_WELL," Roy finally added, to end the silence, his voice was excited, "Did you see your new substitute, Miss Hawkeye? Wow, If only she liked wearing mini skirts…"_

"_GOOD NIGHT ROY." Ed hung up the phone._

'_Damn,' he thought as he climbed back on to his bare mattress, 'Adults can be so gay sometimes.'_

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Winry dropped her books.

"I am going to kill her."

Winry wasn't sure if her eyes were filling with tears, or if she was about ready to punch a random passerby. And why shouldn't she, they were all laughing behind her back anyway.

She ripped off the piece of horrendous paper that was once taped from her locker, and ripped it violently into millions of horrendous pieces. Even if that cruel note was gone, she would never forget it.

She looked behind her shoulder, witnessing some people giggling, trying to convince her that they were simply only getting a drink of water. She wasn't stupid, she could even hear them talking about her.

"Yeah, I think she's pregnant with Ed Elric's baby! At least that's what this senior told me…" Winry saw a student down that hall whispering to someone else, their eyes in shock, a hand over their mouth in surprise.

Winry couldn't read lips, but she had seen that phrase so many times, she had lost count. She was completely used to it, noticing every single word mouthed in the gossiping students.

She began to clench her fists, her head basically in her locker, thinking of many possible ways of how she could kill that damned slut.

_How IS Edward doing in bed these days, hmm?_

* * *

­­­­­­­"What, exactly, did that note say Winry?"

Winry was lying on the most comfortable couch she had ever sat upon. It was red, and soft, and had lots of fluffy pillows she could bury her tear-stained face in.

"I'm sorry Miss Ross, I just feel so uncomfortable saying this…this is my first time in the guidance office…" Winry sniffed. It was true though; she had never talked about this to any stranger before. But her counselor looked very nice, and helping. She had short, black hair, a fair face, and a beautiful beauty mark under her left eye. And she had a nice, warm smile.

"It's okay Winry, I'm here to help. Whatever you say in here doesn't leave the office…" she paused, noticing Winry's sad eyes. She could tell that everything she wanted to say was already known beyond the office. Miss Ross frowned.

"It said 'Go home you fuckin pregnant slut.'"

Miss Ross's eyes widened, her fingers started to grasp her clipboard tightly. She noticed that Winry had abruptly shut her eyes, trying to keep her tears from escaping.

"I'm so sorry to hear this Winry," Miss Ross replied softly, looking down at her clipboard. She had dealt with situations like this, but she had never seen anything this horrible.

_Some years ago, many tragic things were happening in my life. I was too young to understand the consequences, or that they could haunt me forever. I have two best friends, and they are the best friends I will ever have. I have known them my whole life. I don't know what I could possibly do without them. It would be like losing two brothers._

_I have dealt with loss before though. My parents, they passed away when I was very young. I remember the day very well. My two friends came over that day to comfort me; they made me presents to cheer me up. I was so upset; I didn't accept the gifts. They didn't understand what I was going through; they hadn't the slightest idea what it was like to lose someone forever._

_But…I was wrong…_

_Everything was beautiful throughout the years. We would always play down by the river, swing on the swings, and of course we would have fights here and there. But one night, October 3 I can never forget, something horrible happened to them…_

_I live next door to them; I was the first to see it. It was the first fire I had ever seen, besides in a fireplace. Their whole home, was ablaze in red and orange; black smoke was clouding that starry night and it was raining ashes. Nobody could breath; I was so frightened, I hugged my grandmother with all my might. But all I could think about were my friends._

_My friend and his mother were trapped inside… But my other friend, he wasn't inside at the time; he was the one, to come crashing through my door, tears down his face, he couldn't talk, he was stricken with fear, all he could do was watch firemen try to save his brother and mother…they wouldn't let him inside._

_I didn't know what to do. I was so scared, I was crying hysterically; I had never ever thought I would deal with anything as horrendous as this. All I could hear was screaming. My dog Den wouldn't stop barking. _

_And when the screaming stopped…_

_I don't know what happened after that. My granny says the smoke made me pass out, but all I was able to think about was my friend and his mother that were trapped…_

_My friend…he tried risking his own life to save her…he loved her so much; we all did. He was only about 8. It amazes me, how much a child can mature that quickly…to be able to sacrifice his life for his mother..._

_He made it out though, I remember the very next day, he was lying in my bed with bloodstained skin…he was terribly injured…his arm and leg…were of no use to him anymore._

_They both live with me now. They had no other family to go to. Their father had left, they both can't remember him much…of course they had caring people that would take them in, but my granny and I were the first people they came too…_

_Nobody really does know what happened except all of us…and it bothers me so much, that people will make horrible rumors just because he is living with me now. I just want them…to stop._

A still tear fell upon the clipboard, staining the paper. Miss Ross watched as the paper slowly absorbed her tear; it had fell upon the name Winry Rockbell. She watched, as the ink in the letters slowly ran down the margin.

"It's Edward Elric, isn't it." She broke the saddened silence.

Winry looked up from her wet hands, her eyes glistening in the light.

"You may not know it Winry, but he does come in here a lot…I've spoken to him. I have indeed heard this story…many times…" She said very quietly.

Winry sniffed, and wiped her eyes. A stain of black mascara smeared across her flushed skin.

Miss Ross came up from her stool across from Winry and slowly walked over, grasping her clipboard with both hands, and took a seat next to Winry. She slowly reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly, her head down.

"He cares very much for you. You two…have a very special bond. Don't ever break it." She took out a tissue from her pocket, and gave it to Winry, and gestured her to wipe her stained cheek.

"But…I feel so horrible crying all the time. This didn't happen to me, it happened to them! Men should learn how to cry, I have to cry for them because they are to scared…" Winry stuttered; tears still slowly escaped from her closed lids. She took the tissue, and after wiping her face did she notice a giant black mark upon the snow-white tissue. Black…like that night.

All of a sudden, her arms were around her counselor, hugging her tightly, her tear stained face buried in her shoulders. Miss Ross's eyes widened in shock, but her face eased, as she returned a warm and gentle hug.

"No…" Miss Ross quietly whispered, "He does cry…"

* * *

"Ed, you don't even look presentable! Did you even shave this morning?" Roy was hissing in Ed's tired face before he entered the lab. Ed swatted Roy's face away, hoping no body was watching his teacher bitch in his face.

"Hey, IT'S NOT ABOUT ME," Ed whispered violently back into Roy's face, "NOW IF YOU EXCUSE ME MR. MUSTANG I BETTER GET TO CLASS." Edward stormed past his teacher and made his way into the room. The bell had already rung, Ed was in his seat, and Roy was still in the hallway flattening out his tie.

Edward noticed a man sitting in the corner of the room, holding a blue clipboard in his tough hands. He didn't look to old, maybe in his 40's somewhere, but he looked pretty serious. But that one trademark that this man had that nobody was able to miss, was that black eye patch on his left eye. Why was it there? Everybody wondered. Well, nobody knew the answer, they just all stared.

_This can't possibly be the guy that they named the school after…_

"Ok class!" Roy entered through the door, his black hair neatly combed, his tie finally flattened; Edward snickered to himself as he watched Roy grin a totally fake smile.

"Class, over in the corner there is Mr. Bradley, please behave today in honor of our special guest," Roy was loosening his tie now, making his way to the whiteboard, and turned around. It was obvious he was nervous.

Mr. Bradley continued to sit, writing furiously on his clipboard, when all of a sudden he looked up, a friendly smile upon him, "Just pretend I'm not here everybody, no need to be nervous." His voice was deep, but warm. What made his sentence funny was that he was particularly addressing it to the teacher; Ed was still snickering as quietly as he could.

Some time flew by, where Roy choked a bit on his words, or some student did something to piss him off. Very five minutes, he would glance over to the superintendent, who was constantly looking down at his clipboard.

Edward was not paying attention whatsoever; he already knew what he was talking about, because of that annoying late phone call from him. He tapped his fingers annoyingly on the lab table, observing the room, trying not to pay attention at Mr. Bradley's odd eye patch.

He noticed that sophomore Russell, who was sitting across the room. He never really did get a good look at him before. He was patiently writing down every single note, a concerned look upon his face. Edward looked at where his feet were; perfectly flat on the floor.

Ed felt his face steam; these stools were HIGH. His feet, of course narrowly miss the floor when he sits. And that sophomore has no problem whatsoever.

_Winry is going to homecoming with HIM? He is WAAY to friggin tall, if they dance, damn it would look gross…and he's younger then her! Why would he want to ask someone older to a dance? IT MAKES NO SENSE! Stupid. Get a fuckin life and get a girl that's tall enough for you, HA! YOU CAN'T! NO ONE IS THAT INSANELY TALL! It's GROSS! Haha, I laugh at your misfortuned HEIGHT!_

Edward quietly groaned, and brought his face to the table, adding a long sigh. He wished he were that tall…

"Edward…" a stern broke through his envious thoughts.

"Yes, Mr. Mustang!" he brought himself quickly upright, and gave the impression he had been paying attention the entire time. He noticed Roy's eyes; he was giving him "that look", which meant "one day I WILL kill you if you embarrass me like that again." Ed had known Roy his whole life, and he had seen that look a million times. Yet he wasn't dead yet…

"Aren't you going to answer the question?" Roy annoyingly tapped his foot on the floor, while his eyes darted back and forth from the superintendent, back to the confused Ed. Ed quickly dashed his eyes to the board, _components of the human body…percentages…_was all he could get.

"Ah…" Ed started, "Let's see," he pretended to think; he glared at his teacher, his golden eyes screaming "help me."

Roy sighed, "About the components that make up an average human adult being…let's see if you were paying attention." Roy smirked, getting his revenge on Ed.

"Well, eh, ok." Ed started to notice that the class' eyes were all on him; some people were obviously laughing, some were muttering 'teacher's pet' others were sleeping and not paying attention at all.

Ed finally shook his head and laughed very quietly to himself,

"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 25 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorus, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams…"

He stopped. All eyes were on him. Those next components, he couldn't remember them. He glanced over to Roy, who had half of a smile growing, but was expecting to hear more.

"Heh," Edward embarrassingly laughed, "That's…all I could remember.." he sat back down grinning. But secretly he was ashamed.

_Damn…I always remember that. What happened? Oh who gives a crap, no one else will know, Roy better friggin appreciate this, I made him look good at least…_

"Thank you Edward, for your participation, all of that is fine…" Roy started turning towards the whiteboard, with a glorious look upon his face. He noticed that Mr. Bradley was very pleased, and was continuing to write on his board.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mustang," Russell's hand shot in the air. He had been paying attention the entire time, being the good student that he was. Edward evilly glared at him as Roy asked him what he wanted to say.

Russell cleared his throat politely, "Saltpeter, 100 grams. Sulfur, 80 grams. Fluorine, 7.5 grams. Iron, 5 grams. Silicon, 3 grams."

Edward thought he was going to kill him.

The girls would NOT take their eyes off of him. Everybody was so completely amazed that he knew those simple components, but when Ed was trying his best, nobody had cared. Everybody had just fallen for a pretty face. Ed cursed under his breath. He literally hated everybody here. He always did…

"Oh," Russell added, as he turned in his stool to face the astonished classroom, "And a trace amount of 15 other elements…"

"I fuckin knew that." Edward said angrily under his breath. All the girls were dreamily sighing, he heard 'Wow he's so smart!' The guys were getting jealous at this point, and Edward was about ready to punch someone.

Roy however was also amazed. He glared over to Mr. Bradley, who was grinning widely in the corner, clapping quietly.

"My Mr. Mustang, you have some talented students in here," he laughed, "Especially that young man up front," he gestured over to Russell.

Russell smiled, and took a quick bow, more dreamy sighs arising from the girls.

Edward frowned angrily, quietly pounding his fists against the table.

"Ah…" Roy started, quite shocked at the result, "Thank you sir…?" He scratched his head and giggled nervously.

All of a sudden, a large sound of the door being slammed was heard. Half the students jumped from their stools, Mr. Bradley's eye widened, Roy's face heated up with annoyanceas he noticed one of his studen'ts stool was empty.

_Dammit Ed, you're gonna pay for that..._

* * *

WEll yay that was chapter 4! hmm many things seem to unravel there...dun dun dun duuunnn/ yeah, al wasnt really mentioned in here, but he probably will be later. so know we have winrys side of the sotry hoo rah

please review it will make me sooo happy .

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	5. Three Steps and it will be okay

Hiyas! THANKS FOR REVIEWING PEOPLE I LOVE YOU. heh

Actually, this chapter is very short. It kind of reminds me of a short, drabble one shot fic between Ed and Winry. I didn't feel like putting much in this chapter, but the next one will be better i promise! im sorry but I JUST NEEDA WINRY AND ED MOMENT.lolit takes place right after the whole human components thingamabob.

please r&r! but dont flame, me dont likey flame

* * *

Three more steps and it will be okay...

Edward stared at the panel of buttons. He had many places to go to, the second floor, and the first floor, maybe he could just leave the school all together. He sighed, and pressed a random button that brought him down.

Ed sat in a ball in the corner of the elevator, his eyebrows frowning, his teeth gritting. Roy was going to kill him. He promised he would never walk out like that again. But Roy was being blind; how can he not notice how evil the other people were? I shouldn't be taking this seriously, he thought. Everybody go's through crap like this. But not everybody gets taunted for the positions he was in.

So many emotions were running through his head. Not just about how much of a bastard he thought Russell was, things were just racing before his eyes.

It was like he was watching his life over again during an elevator ride that lasted a few seconds.

October 3 was only a few days ago…

The doors slowly opened, and Edward peeked out through the emerging crack. The guidance office was right across from him. Three steps, and he would be ok. A simple three steps, he thought to himself as he brought himself upright.

Exactly three steps, in front of that door.

He sighed, and looked through the glass. No one was in there.

_I guess other people don't go through crap like I thought they did…_

He wanted to talk. All those words were in his throat, but would Maria listen to him again? He thought for a moment, does she ever get sick of all this shit I talk about? Why would she? She's a guidance counselor for Pete's sake. If she told a kid to shut up, they would have fired her a long time ago.

Edward slowly started to turn around, but something was caught in the corner of his eye.

Without hesitation, he pressed his face against the glass, observing closely for that speck of blonde he saw. He knew that blonde.

_Winry's in the guidance office?_

He took his eyes off the glass, complelty shocked. She was finally talking. To a stranger. The only thing he was wondering was if she was able to tell more than what she already told him.

The doorknob clicked, Edward took a step back, quietly gasping.

"Ed…?"

Winry was grasping the doorknob, staring into Edward's confused eyes.

He didn't reply. There was something different. Her eyes looked smaller. Was it because all that black goop she puts around her eyes was all gone? But that wasn't it; her eyes weren't as blue. Her face was not glowing.

Before he knew it, Winry was out in the hall, holding her books closely to her thighs. She refused to look into his face.

"Want to take a walk. I really don't want to go to class right now." Her voice was low, and had a slow tone. She sounded as if she hadn't slept for days.

"Edward Elric, please report to the principle's office." A voice rang over the loud speaker unexpectedly. Roy had obviously called the office. Winry and Ed continued with their silence, as if they hadn't heard anything.

Ed nodded. Winry didn't even see him reply, but she simply turned and began to walk towards the stairs, while he followed.

* * *

"So, Maria's your counselor too?"

Ed and Winry were walking in silencefor a while, side by side. When teachers asked for their pass, Winry would flash a piece of notebook paper written poorly, with a fake teacher's signature, stating they were going to the library. All they had been doing was walking in circles. And they hadn't looked at each other once.

"Yes." She replied quietly. The sound of her footsteps increased with every word; Ed had to slightly jog to keep up with her.

"What, do you even want to talk?" Edward said loudly over to Winry, who was a few feet in front of him. He then noticed something different again. Her hair was down. She never let her hair down, it was always up. She even told him one time, "I like to wear my hair up! The bangs always get in my eyes, and I can't see anything."

_Doesn't she want to see anything anymore?_

She abruptly stopped; Ed nearly crashed into her back. He was awfully close to her, he could hear her staggered breathing.

"Ed, I think I told to much." She whispered, finally spinning her head around. He noticed her pale skin was stained with tears, he could see a slight black mark across her cheek.

Ed sighed, and observed where they had wandered off. They were near another elevator, in front of some random empty classroom. They had probably passed that area about 5 times already.

He looked back to where Winry was once in front of him, and noticed she had started walking up the hallway again. He groaned, and ran up to her again.

"Winry, why won't you talk?" he finally yelled. He knew that people must have gone up to lunch already, nobody was there to hear. He stopped running as soon as he saw her stop again. She violently turned around. He couldn't see her face because of her bangs. Right now, he wished she had a hair tie.

"Why don't YOU ever talk Ed! You never tell me anything! Why?" she screamed it down the hallway. She was breathing heavily, staring into Ed's golden eyes, expecting an answer.

Ed's face softened. He hated to see her this way. Sure, it wasn't new, and she did have reasons to be upset. But every time he saw a tear escape through those eyes, something within him burned. It was as if that burning feeling was telling him that it was his fault. You did this Edward. All because of you, she cries. It's your fault.

_She cries for you, don't you understand._

His eyes widened; a voice within him was talking. That burning feeling was real, he looked down to where that feeling was born, down at the center of his chest. His heart. It was beating very fast.

_Don't you understand._

He didn't have an answer. He looked slowly up again. Winry was at the end of the hall, he could only see her back; she was standing in front of the bulletin board, writing upon something. He never saw so much blonde hair against her back before. He started to walk up the hallway, eventually coming up to her side.

He glanced over to the piece of poster she had just signed. It was auditions for the new play.

_Romeo and Juliet._

"You're trying out for the play? I thought you didn't like the arts," Ed was staring at her signature. It was written poorly. He glanced over to her hand, it was shaking.

She placed the cap back on to her pen, slowly grinning a fake smile, "Someone said I should try acting. I think I will. I would like to be Juliet…" she turned once again, and began to walk down the next corner of the hall.

She stopped, a hand upon her shoulder. Gasping, she turned around, Ed's eyes were staring into hers.

His hair was down and no longer in that long braid. She looked at his other hand, he was lightly grasping his hair tie, and gesturing it towards her own hair.

"Please put your hair up." He finally stated firmly, blowing an annoying strand of golden hair from his face, "I don't want it to sound mean or anything, but I don't like it that way."

* * *

wow that was so sickengly short, BUT I NEEDED THAT MOMENT IN THERE. did you like it at least ,just to ease some tension in the story? the enxt chapter really has to reflect on al some more though

please review!


	6. Romeo Doff Thy Name

Whee! chapter 6 has some weird humor in it today! thaks for the reviews people . well in this chapter...stuff happens. find out for yourself! idont know if theres any roy/ed fans out there THERES NO YAOI IN THIS STORY but their both mentioned alot toghetehr in this chapter, cause their just such good freinds cough

by the way, the thumb and index finger thing, i dont know if i said it partially right. i have a yoga dvd and thats all i can rmemeber about the hands..O.o; lol YES YOGA IS COOL. (but no ed and al dont do yoga, they do karate HIYA)

ok im gonna start doing this thing, cause everyone sdoing it, and i feel special when i see my name, these are the peopled that reviewed for chapter 5:

**Darkness Shadow of Hatred: **i know i thought it was cute I NEEDED THAT MOMENT! lol anyways thansk for the review, and saying im doing a good job . lol

**kuramazlilsis:** im glad to hear that you like it, please continue reading it will make my happy . im glad to hear that im doing a good job

**Aztec Goddess:** well I Thought it was short, lol, cause most of my chapters are long lol. but i like your chapters too! lol quality over quantity, . yay im so glad that you want to continue reading

**shinigami's girl:** can you do me a big favor? email me a site or tell me one about gundam! i REALLY want to read your fic sobad, but i dont understand anything LOL, i read that beginning but i was lost lol i really want to read it though! tear tear

**Alchemist jade:** lol thre will be more edward/winry moments i promise you. but im glad to hear you liked that short chapter, please continue reading i will be oh so happy . im glad to hear you like how this is coming along so far too.

im sorry this chapter came in late people, my account got cancelled for a week because i tried sending in a song fic and...oh whatever, long story I DIDNT TAKE THOSE LYRICS! wahh email me at if you would like to read it, its called "the ghost of you" lyrics by my chemical romance

please r&r! thankies

* * *

"Sensei, can you put in a different scent? Lavender gives me a headache…" 

"Shut up Al. Lavender soothes the mind, and I REALLY need my mind soothed." Izumi stated angrily.

Al, sighed, and grinned a little. Sensei was so funny; he had no idea what he would do without her.

The two of them were sitting in the middle of a soft, blue mat. The lights were dimmed, and lavender incense was burning softly. They were across from each other, both their eyes closed, in deep meditation, before Al broke the silence with his headache.

Al opened his eyes a little bit and observed the dimroom. He couldn't concentrate today, his head was pounding insanely, and that lavender was making him tired. He wished Ed had come today. Of course he got that detention today for walking out of the classroom, and not going to the office when they called him down. As soon as Al had heard that announcement over the loud speaker during the last lunch, he knew Ed was in trouble again.

The two sat in silence for some time. Al really couldn't calm himself, and he just sat with crossed legs for a little while. He noticed Sensei's hands as she meditated. Every time they meditated after training, there was always that weird hand position that Alphonse never understood. You took your index finger and rested it against your thumb, placed it on your knees and just simply began. Sensei never started mediation without getting into position like that, but every time Al tried it with his hands, his fingers got tired.

"Sensei?" he finally built up the courage to ask his question out loud and break the deep silence. Surprisingly, Izumi didn't move at all. Not one eyebrow cocked like it always did when she was annoyed. She continued to sit, expecting to hear more from his question.

"What is with the hands exactly? I mean, you never told me what the purpose of it was. Is there even a purpose?" he continued with his questions, studying his fingers.

"Look," she said, reaching out her hand, her eyes remained closed. She brought her index finger to her thumb, and placed it back upon her knee.

"The index finger represents yourself," she flashed her index finger into his face.

"Your thumb represents the universe," thus doing the same thing with her thumb.

"When brought together, a peaceful setting iwith you and the universe iscreated.Remember that Alphonse; I'm surprised you never realized it before, it's pretty obvious." Her eyebrows slightlyfrowned, but she tried her best to keep the muscles in her face calm.

Alphonse continued to stare at his tiredfingers, placing his index finger on his thumb repeadtly.

"So, where is the bean, exactly," Izumi asked firmly, her eyes still remained shut. Al wasn't sure if she was still in meditation and was able to talk at the same time. Sensei was really unpredictable.

"Eh, he has another detention today," Al said, quickly shutting his eyes and tried to remain as quiet as he could, hoping Sensei didn't realize he wasn't in the mood to "clear his mind."

Izumi grunted, "Hmph, has he even been taking his meds lately."

Al quietly laughed, "Ha, good one Sensei."

"No." she finally stated firmly. Her response was so loud, that Al had no choice but to open his tired eyes again. He noticed that she had already gotten up on her feet, flattening out her white robes, a stern look upon her face, "The real ones. Has he been taking them."

Alphonse looked up at his teacher, his silver eyes frowning. He didn't want his face to look too obvious, so he simply shrugged to his teacher who evilly loomed over him.

"Don't even think about lying to me," she crossed her arms aggressively, her dark eyes narrowed at Al.

His eyebrows quickly rose, and he quickly got up on his feet, stumbling for a second, and took a quick bow.

"Gomen Sensei…" he paused. He finallytook a quiet sigh; "No…I really don't think he's been taking them…"

Izumi let out an angry breath of air, and shook her head, "His bipolar is never going to get any better… If he were here right now, I would have shoved those pills down his god-damned throat…" she punched her fist into her cuffed palm, her teeth gritting.

Al managed to crack a smile and add a muffled laugh as that image appeared in his mind. But he thought about his brother for a minute, thinking of how his condition could get him into more trouble today…knowing him, if Roy pissed him off, he would probably knock him out.

Izumi began to untie her black belt and take off the top of her robe exposing a simple white t-shirt. She lazily wiped a bead of running sweat from her warm brow, "It's getting hot, let's call it a day." She glanced over to Al, who was still wearing his thick robe while packing his things into his bag.

"Al, you're making me hot just looking at you. Take off that damned thing, will ya?" Izumi whined to her student. She flipped at an annoying, black braid that swept into her pale face. Alphonse continued to put his items away, and didn't look up at his teacher.

"No…" he gulped… "I'm not that hot," he muttered while heaving the bag upon his shoulder.

* * *

"You have NO IDEA how pissed I am at you Ed," Roy was fumbling with the endless amount of knick knacks hanging off of his key chain, trying to lock the door behind him. 

It was about 5:00 PM, Ed's detention ended about fifteen minutes ago, but Roy had a long talk about his embarrassment that occurred earlier.

"Oh, well you know what, I'm oh so sorry Mr. Mustang!" Ed replied sarcastically, opening his golden eyes wide and blinking them repeatedly to imitate a forgiving child, "Maybe I can tutor some kids to make it up for you AND WILL YOU GOD DAMN HURRY UP AND LOCK THE DOOR!" Ed had it on his last nerve. He was in no mood to stay longer at school and help Roy in the teacher's lounge. He wanted to go home, and sleep. And maybe eat something. Yeah, eat. He was starving. He would do anything for some steak right about now…

_Outback Steakhouse..._

Roy sighed annoyingly, finally locking the door with the golden key dangling off of his chain; "You think you're in a bad mood today? THE DAY YOU DISCOVER WHAT REAL ANGER IS, IS THE DAY YOU GROW AN INCH." Roy turned and stared Edward evilly in the eye, his black eyebrows pulled down sharply.

Ed grinned, " Oh pshaw, and pigs are gonna fly outta my ass, I fuckin know what anger is Roy..." His fake grin quickly disappeared, and he also began to stare Roy in his dark eyes.

They had no idea how long they were evilly glaring at each other. Of course, it didn't bother them at all. Almost every other day, Roy had to crack a short joke in Ed's face, and Ed would insult him back. They had been fighting like that for as long as they could remember. It kind of disturbed other adults that were in the bad position to witness them, but half the time, they just had a good laugh about it later, and forgot what they were arguing about in the first place.

They were both walking down the hallway; Roy was walking far behind his annoyed student. Ed holding his chemistry book lazily at his side, Roy tightly grasping a black briefcase in his hand. Both their faces were red with anger; the janitor even quickly walked away and started cleaning another hall when he noticed them storming down his path.

Finally, they reached thier destination on the first floor. Ed turned his head angrily, shoved his fist in his pocket, and quickly walked his way towards the front doors, without saying goodbye.

"Wait, Ed." was what he heard behind him. He slowlyturned around, noticing that Roy was still patientlystanding in the middle of the floor, "I want to give your test back, if you want, you can come and walk down to my office. It's right next to the auditorium."

There was a moment of silence between them. If Ed listened hard enough, he was still able to hear that slight echo of Roy's last words travel through the empty school.

Ed sighed angrily, and rolled his eyes, "Whatever," and slowly walked towards his teacher.

* * *

"Ha. Nice desk. Got enough pictures of Mr. Hughes on here?" Ed was holding a frame enclosing a picture of Roy and Mr. Hughes. Roy was sporting a serious smile upon his pale face, his dark eyes appeared happy. Mr. Hughes was flashing a peace sign with his fingers to the camera, and had a wide, joyful smile upon his jaw. The light from the flash reflected offof his rectangular glasses, making his happy face unusually bright. 

"Hey, I've know him longer then you," Roy playfully punched Ed on his left shoulder; Ed couldn't help but grin as he put the frame back down next to Roy's laptop. Roy was quickly typing grades on the chemistry classes' grade sheets, and printing out new tests and study guides. Ed noticed his test within the graded pile, a 98 circled in bold, red marker.

"I'm surprised you missed those two points Ed," Roy started, still not taking his eyes off of the screen, "But still, good job as always." After about five minutes, he finally turned off his laptop, and placed everybody's poor tests back into his case, "Come on, I'll drive you home today."

Ed nodded, and followed him out through the doors. They were quickly walking down the arts hall. Edward observed all of the talented paintings and artwork that stood on the easels and walls. Beautiful photos were sealed in glass casings down through the hall, some in a simple black and white, and others with enthralling colors.

_Maybe Al will get his work in here one day._

His artistic thoughts finally halted to a question, Had he ever even see Al's art yet? Alphonse always talked about this certain painting he was working on. Yet Ed had never witnessed him work on it, or even see it. He wondered if it was good; he wondered if it was as good as Mom's paintings...

Edward paused, Roy still continued to walk. Ed turned his head, towards the auditorium doors, where he heard a soft sound occur behind them. Roy turned around, noticing that Edward's footsteps have stopped.

"Ed, what are you…?" he watched Ed as he opened the heavy doors and entered in to the dark room. Roy sighed and shook his head annonyingly, and eventually followed him in to the theatre.

It was pitch black in the back of the auditorium; the lights were bright upon the stage, where talented actors and actresses waited, rehearsing their lines. Thick blue and yellow curtains draped the area, adding a soft hue to the different rainbows of lights that scattered upon the drapes in the back. Roy searched for his student throughout the rows of red, velvet reclining seats, and found him sitting in the back corner.

"What Ed, you've never seen the auditorium?" Roy whispered sarcastically to Edward, while taking a seat in front of him. He quickly opened up his brief case, and took out the same papers he was working with earlier, pretending to grade them.

"Eh…I never really come in here a lot," Ed relaxed a little, putting his feet up against the back of Roy's chair, and crossing his arms behind his head. However, he didn't enter because of the beauty of the theatre, he heard something familiar in here.

"Hey, what are they doing in here anyway?" Ed asked Roy. Roy didn't reply. He had stopped fumbling with his paper work; however, he continued to stare at something up front. Ed kicked the back of his chair with his fake footto get his attention; his blonde eyebrow cocked when Roy still didn't respond.

All of a sudden, Roy slowlygot up from his seat and began to walk down the side aisle; he had left his brief case in his seat. Edward's face twisted in confusion as he witnessed Roy walk quickly up the ramp on the side aisle, as if trying to hide from someone because of the darkness settled there. Ed fixed his eyes to wear Roy was staring.

_Oh hell no._

"Ok guys, I'm going to take a quick attendance before we start," Miss Hawkeye's bold voice rang throughout the large room.

Edward couldn't help it, but he started to insanely laugh inside his head. Roy was falling for the new sub, and he was watching her every move like a horny teenage boy. It happened every time there was a new woman in the school, and it wasn't new to Ed. Half the time, he would try to sabotage it, just for a good laugh, and Roy's relationships never really lasted long thanks to his troublesome student.

Roy placed his elbows upon the guardrail attached to the side aisle in the corner, and rested his chin in his hands. His eyes were dreamily fixed upon her; he seriously looked like a stalker.

Ed was thinking of random things he could yell across the auditorium that would humiliate him; but he paused. Nah, he thought, I embarrassed him enough today.

"Winry Rockbell." He heard Miss Hawkeye's voice echo.

"Eh?" Ed brought himself upright, frantically searching the front rows. Blonde head, where the hell is that blonde head? He vaguely saw her hand shoot quickly up in the air. He finally figured it out, it was Winry's faint voice he heard in here that pulled him inside.

_The auditions are today? Winry's trying out for Juliet?_

He quietly laughed to himself.

_This I gotta see._

Ed didn't want to sound horrid, but Winry just wasn't good with the arts. He wasn't one to complain, he sucked too. She really didn't have talent for music, and she never really liked drawing or painting. Yet again, he never really did see her act. And she was very overly dramatic sometimes. But she will always just remain the machine freak everybody came to know and love.

Ed impatiently sat throughout some people's auditions, and he also tried to ignore Roy still freakishly standing in the sideaisle. Some people were over all horrible, and others were decent with their lines. About half an hour passed, and he realized he was getting really hungry again…

He saw Winry in the center stage. All of the golden auroras were on her; she squinted from the blinding lights. She was standing shyly, twiddling her fingers. Ed wasn't even sure if she wanted to be up there, but something in her eyes said that it was something she must achieve. Even though she appeared nervous, she was going to make it through.

Her hair was up, with his hair tie. It shone bright and beaufitul in those lights. Edward finally remembered that he still had his hair down. He looked over to his shoulders and noticed his golden locks falling upon them. He never realized his hair was that long.

_Oh well, at least Roy didn't say it looked like a mullet today…_

"I'll be trying out for the role of Juliet," Winry spoke clearly and seriously to the witnessing students in the front row. Surprisingly, Winry wasn't even holding a script in her hands; she was saying her lines from memorization. Ed glanced over to Miss Hawkeye in the corner with her clipboard; first of all he had no idea she was organizing this play, second of all she looked verydifferent. Her blonde hair fell down around her fair face, and her warm brown eyes were bespectacled. She didn't look like the stern gym teacher Ed had to put up with before.

He glanced over back to Winry, who began to clear her throat delicately. He rested his head against his arms as they lay on top of the seat in front of him; his golden eyes concerned.

"Good luck," he whispered, knowing that Winry wouldn't be able to hear him anyway.

Winry closed her blue eyes softly,

"'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague,"

Ed's eyes widened. Those simple words. He had read them before in that stupid book, but when Winry said them…he actually began to understand the meaning.

"What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man." While saying those words, Winry used wonderful gestures, portraying the emotion from the scene wonderfully. Her face, looked calm yet upset; she yearned for her Romeo.

"O, be some other name!" she rose her voice, looking up at the high stage, calling to the heavens that appeared to the audience as she acted.

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title…!" she dropped on to her knees on the floor, and buried her convincing face into her palms. A dramatic pause filled the silent air, as the students in the auditorium awaited for her final line.

"Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee, Take all myself." She said quietly, yet angrily, not looking once out in to the audience, still on her knees depressingly.

Applause filled the auditorium immensely; some whistles were heard. Her acting even caught Roy's attention from Miss Hawkeye towards the end, and he was also clapping for her talent. Miss Hawkeye was on her feet, applauding loudly for all to hear.

"Winry, that was absolutely beautiful! Well done," she said, happily writing something upon her clipboard as she sat back down. She tried her best to keep that calm, serious face, but that smile just wouldn't leave her jaw.

Winry happily trotted off of the stage down the stairs, and went back to her seat. Some people were whispering 'Good job!' and others were giving her high fives.

Edward was still standing, his mouth slightly agape.

Winry had amazing talent. He had no idea whatsoever that his friend could act like that. She memorized every single word from the damned play, and said each word flawlessly. It was like she _was_ Juliet, standing up there alone, crying for her star-crossed lover. Her face, her voice, her actions, it was just perfect.

He was so happy for her, yet something was wrong. He didn't clap for her. Was he so amazed by this he FORGOT to compliment her talent? He sat back down, pointless thoughts rushing through his mind.

"Wow, your little girlfriend has some skill up there," Roy was back, annoyingly whispering in Ed's ear while he was in deep thought. He had un unusual smile upon his face.

Edward's eyes widened immensely, "What! She's not my girlfriend! She's like…my sister! That's GROSS!" he pretended to gag as Roy chuckled to himself.

"Sure she is," Roy abruptly patted him on the head, and started to ruffelEd's goldenhair,"By the way, nice mullet today."

Ed's face steamed, but all of a sudden, an evil grin slowly started to crack through his angry look as Roy stated to put all of his things back in to his brief case.

"Yeah, Mr. Mustang I SAW YOU TAMING YOUR TROUSER SNAKE BACK THERE!" Ed yelled loudly; his voice screaming through the auditorium He quickly ran out of the auditorium and slammed the heavy doors, and even though those doors were thick, Roy was still able to hear that devil's insane laughter.

Roy slowly turned his head behind him, a faint blush appeared on his pale cheeks, his eyes wide. Students were utterly confused, some trying to conceal their laughs; some were kind of disgusted to hear that about their own teacher. Most importantly, Miss Hawkeye was utterly shocked; she dropped her clipboard.

_I am never giving that bastard a 98 on his tests again…

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_

haha im sorry, i needed that trouser snake part in there.heh heh.

well chapter 7 will be on as quickly as possible! sorry, i have no idea when all the drama and romance is setting in, that will be in the end lol, and i will try not to get this account delyaed again..lol

please review! i thank all the people that have! .


	7. Sincerely

ok yeah, i am reposting chapters 7 and 8 because some people are saying they cannot see it, so im sorry yeah wahtever. here you go

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Winry hummed to herself happily, as she squeezed the whitening toothpaste upon her plastic toothbrush. She began to brush her grinning teeth, dancing side to side to the song she was singing in her head.

But it's just the price, I pay, destiny is calling me…open up my eager eyes… 

"Cause I'm Mr. Bright side!" Winry sang loudly for all to hear, using the toothbrush as an imaginary microphone. She smiled, and looked at herself in the mirror. Aside from the smudge of toothpaste left under her mouth from singing, she felt great that morning.

A knock on the door interrupted the middle of her song, "Someone sounds a little to happy today," a familiar voice laughed behind the door.

"Come in Al!" Winry sang her words, opening the door, bobbing her head side to side.

Winry was still in her pink pajamas; Alphonse was all dressed, wearing a black zip up Volcom hoodie over a pink t-shirt, shorts, and his green converse, and he grasped his heavy book bag in his left hand. His eyebrow cocked at Winry's odd behavior, "Wow, don't ever sing talk again…" he laughed, entering the bathroom.

"So, whattya want?" Winry wiped the toothpaste away from the bottom of her mouth, humming the melody of the tune in her head. She filled a small plastic cup of water, and began to rinse; Al still glared confusingly.

"Ah, I just needed to put something away," he opened the medicine cabinet; Winry's facial cleanser fell out in to the sink. At that same time, she happened to spit out her water into the basin.

"Ha! Look at that," she pointed to her cleanser in the sink as it got splashed. Al couldn't help but laugh. He was so happy for her this morning, she was finally smiling again. He wasn't sure why she was so depressed those two weeks ago. Either it was PMS, or something happened, but he didn't know, all that mattered is that she was happy.

"Al!" she gasped, adding a giggle while drying her mouth with a towel, "Aren't you hot?" she pointed to his long sleeved sweatshirt, "The weather has been SCORCHIN lately!" she laughed, while taking her hair tie off of her wrist. She began to tie her hair back into a long ponytail on top of her bobbing head, leaving two long strands of blonde to soften her face.

"Eh, not really," he quickly turned away from Winry, and went near the window to crack it open a bit. He saw Ed out in the driveway, trying to open his car door. He tugged on the handle violently, his face red with anger. He kicked angrily at the wheel, and cursed out in pain from his stupid action.

"Ah…" Al started with a small laugh, "Ed's having trouble with the car again." He gradually shut the window, slowly pacing side to side nervously.

"Hmm?" Winry's bright smile quickly vanished, "I just fixed that damn machine about a month ago, and he goes and ruins it! What the hell can he possibly do to a car?" Winry slammed the medicine cabinet door furiously, shaking her head angrily as she stormed out of the bathroom without saying a friendly good bye.

Alphonse let out a relieved sigh. He took a quick look out of the bathroom, observing the halls quietly. He watched Winry storm down the stairs, screaming something about her where her wrench was.

He slowly took his head back in, and reached towards the medicine door, trying to open it as quietly as he could. He gently zipped open his bag, as carefully as he could, so that annoying zipper noise was mute; he took the item he was searching for and quietly placed it back behind the endless amounts of cleansers and whatnot. He wondered if Ed had realized it was gone again.

He then noticed his face in the mirror. He looked very tired, he had some slight circles under his eyes, and just looking at his own reflection made him want to crawl under his blankets and go to bed. He began to caress his chin, observing the skin carefully.

_I wonder when I'll have to start to shave…_

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* * *

Edward stared through the glass on that dreaded chemistry door. He was having a very bad day as it was. First of all, he had locked his keys inside the car, and Winry goes and becomes pissed because she thought that he had ruined it. Of course, he laughs, how in the world can I ruin a car YOU fixed Winry, he asks annoyingly. He obviously received a smack in the head with her wrench. And of course, that smack from the wrench weakens his mind, making it nearly impossible for him to concentrate in calculus, when there just happens to be a very important chapter test. Frowning at the horrible idea, he had probably failed.

He took a hopeful sigh, putting on a fake smile as the students made their way towards lunch. After they were gone, he cursed under his breath, and rolled his eyes angrily. He knocked loudly at the door, hoping it sounded annoying.

"Good day Mr. Mustang!" Ed swiftly entered after opening the door; he had a wide grin upon his face, "How are you!" he slammed the door very loudly, and if anyone was able to notice, his eye slightly twitched.

Roy was sitting at his desk, staring at a mess of papers. He was furiously writing on grade sheets, and whatnot, not looking up once from his written thoughts. He had dark circles under his eyes, his jet black hair looked slightly messy, and he kept adding long sighs with every word he wrote upon the papers.

Edward oddly skipped over to his desk, still sporting that strange grin, and abruptly slammed his hands upon the table; Roy jumped a bit from his seat, and began to rub his temples and groan achingly from the sound.

"So!" Edward sang, tapping his mechanical fingers upon the desk annoyingly, "What's my punishment for today?" he added an false laugh, "After all, you gave me those detentions for no reason apparently!" his grin quickly began to fade, as he gently picked up a glass beaker on the desk and slowly tossed it from hand to hand. He glanced over down at his teacher, who was still scribbling frantically upon any piece of parchment that came in his way.

"Lets make this quick ok, I have a lunch to get too," Edward said menacingly, still trying to get Roy's attention. He continued to toss the piece of glass higher in the air now, still catching it with good precision. In the back of his mind, he quietly wished that he would accidentally miss it, and it would break.

"Ed," Roy's low voice finally broke the silence, "Do you think I'm a good teacher?"

Edward lightly placed the glass beaker upon the desk adding a soft smile, "Well. Now is the time you REALLY shouldn't ask me questions like that. K?" he added in a high- pitched, sarcastic voice; a muscle under his eye was still twitching from annoyance.

"No, really," Roy began to pick up each test from under the endless piles of paper. He slowly flipped through the pile like a deck of cards, his dark eyes almost appeared sorrowful.

"These tests, they're horrible," he placed them back upon the desk, "Am I doing a good job?" He didn't look up at his angry student.

Edward paused, and noticed Roy's face. His skin appeared dull, his black hair looked as if it had lost its sheen, and his shady eyes gave off the impression of lacking sleep. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two as Roy continued to eye the tests. Ed's face softened a bit as he took a long sigh. He closed his golden eyes,

"It's not you Roy, the people here are just all dumbasses, nothing more," he said quickly as he turned away; he leaned against the desk with his back facing the teacher. He looked down and crossed his arms and began to nervously tap his right foot upon the floor, which made an unusual loud noise.

Ed had no idea how long he was standing like that; he forgot that he had to get to lunch and meet up with Al outside; it was a perfect, warm day to eat at the picnic table. He also really wanted his sandwich, but he thought about that disgusting milk carton Granny had packed; he could just simply throw it away or maybe sell it to some dumb freshman.

Ed's thoughts were wakened from a noise that settled behind him; the metal legs squeaked against the hard floor as Roy rose from his chair. He walked out from behind the desk, and began to pace around the lab, stopping at each lab table to observe all of the beakers and tubes.

"Ed, this will be your last detention; you really don't deserve to have any more," Roy said slowly, as he held a glass tube in his gloved hand; his eyes still fixed upon what was ever in front of him.

Ed's eyes widened. He could feel a slight smile trying to grow on his jaw, but he quickly stopped it. He turned away and looked the other way at the clock upon the wall; he was 15 minutes late.

"Is this only because I said you're not a bad teacher," he asked angrily, thinking that he could just compliment Roy all the time and maybe get out of situations like this.

A pause settled between them, and Roy's footsteps have stopped from walking around the lab. A long sigh from Roy was heard across the room; Ed slowly turned around.

"No, I was acting childish," Roy said slowly as he observed the glass beakers with great precision, "But today, I would like you to clean the equipment, and that will be all I ask of you."

Edward continued to stare at Roy's distressed expression. Something about his eyes was just not right, it didn't appear as if he hadn't slept, he looked troubled and worried.

"Whatever," was all Ed could manage to say, even though he wanted that simple 'thanks' to leave his throat; he grabbed his bagged lunch that he left upon the table with a swift grasp, and turned again to make his way to the other door.

He stopped in mid step, after hearing the door on the other side of the room slam shut. He quickly turned around on his heels; Roy wasn't present in the room. Edward was alone, holding his bagged lunch by his side. He sighed.

_Now I know what it feels like for someone to walk out on me,_

He glanced back at Roy's unorganized desk. Millions of different colored pens were scattered across the top, not to mention papers out of file covering the entire table. A bag of Frito's was still opened fresh with a trail of crumbs upon the amidst of papers. A Dunkin Donuts coffee was also standing promptly next to the snacks, with a fresh mist of steam escaping from the lid.

Edward decided it was time to do a good deed. He walked over to the other side of the desk, seating himself down into Roy's chair. It was actually very comfortable, he thought. He picked up the bag of messy Frito's and attempted to brush the crumbs back into the bag, trying to clean up he messy desk for his stressed teacher. As he was brushing away the mess, his replica hand abruptly bumped into the cup of coffee, quickly knocking it over from the strong force.

_Oh shit, this is what I get for trying to help,_ Ed thought as he shook his wet hand. The burning coffee had spilled all over his right arm; luckily, it did not affect him in anyway, he wasn't able to feel any kind of burn whatsoever. However, the spill happened to affect all the papers around it; the tests and quizzes were quickly absorbing all of the drink, and the brown puddle began to grow immensely as the cup rolled off of the desk. Edward cursed to himself some more, asking himself why he had even bothered trying to do anything in the first place. He could have gone STRAIGHT to lunch; it was probably over by now.

Leaving the bag of chips behind, he started to pick up all of the damaged papers upon the desk, and toss them into the trashcan next to the desk. He was getting his hands soaking wet, and he knew he was going to reek off coffee all day.

As he was moving all of the papers off from the desk, something peculiar caught the corner of his eye. He lazily tossed the pointless papers into the bin, and went searching for whatever he had thought he saw. Something that didn't look like it had to relate to school; he dug through the piles, ignoring the fact that he was making the desk worse and he was violently ripping papers as he clawed through the piles.

There, he had noticed a perfectly preserved envelope, still closed, with a fresh stamp in the corner, and the addresses written out in perfect cursive. His eyebrow cocked in confusion as he reached out slowly towards the letter, wondering if he should invade Roy's privacy.

Without any more hesitation, he gently picked up the letter in his damp fingers, and looked more closely at the writing.

Edward's once confused eyes widened; his iris shrunk and his eyebrows frowned. His hands were shaking as he held that letter; he managed to escape a small gasp as he read that address over and over.

_It can't be._

Ed was breathing heavily, as the letter dropped back upon the desk; he didn't notice that it landed in the puddle of spilled coffee that was left upon the messy desk.

Edward wasn't thinking when he realized he was searching through all of Roy's drawers, carelessly tossing out any schoolwork that lay in his way. He violently went searching through the piles of books and pens, until he finally found what he was searching for.

A pile of old letters and notes lay at the bottom of the last drawer, as if they were hidden. Edward was shaking his head, repeating 'no' over and over again in his traumatized mind. He held all of the letters in his hands, frantically eyeing the words, reading them over and over again.

He observed the area; papers were everywhere, all of Roy's books and personal belongings were aimlessly all over the floor. All of the drawers were hastily opened; the area over all looked worse then before.

Edward was on his knees; his hands still shaking angrily as he held the letter in his hand. It was now terribly open, and Ed has read it over and over again. His mind was twisting in confusion as he read the last sentence yet again His teeth were gritting every time he read the horrid paragraphs, his eyes began to sting as his eyebrows sharply frowned. His name was not mentioned once.

_I hate you._

_

* * *

__Dear Roy,_

_I'm sorry this letter has arrived so late. I hope you are not too angry with me; and I pray many others are not also._

_How are you doing these days? I grow tired here, and I'm yearning to come home. But I feel lost. I feel as if nobody wants me to come back to my home, is this true? I miss my beloved Trisha very much; I hope she is doing all right._

_I noticed you haven't written lately, but I could understand why, and it is perfectly fine. I feel horrible that I haven't been writing to her, but I am afraid that they would not dare to read my thoughts. I believe they dislike me enough as it is. But I miss my Trisha, and everyone that I have once come to know and love._

_I yearn to hear from everyone, and this may be possible. Please do not be upset with me, but I am thinking about returning. But, I am not sure if I can settle. I think I must stop running away._

_But please my friend, do an important favor for me. Please tell my Alphonse to stop, and everything will be all right._

_Sincerely,_

_Hohenheim_

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	8. A River of Crimson

Sorry, I'm reposting Chapter 8 for the sake of a lovely reader (you know who you are) so I am doing this for you. Sorry, the repsonds to the commenters (word?) will not be here as they were before, same go's with Chapter 7. So if you already read this chapter, just ignore the fact its on again, and if you just started reading this story, feel free to read and reveiw please! (p.s. IM MRS. GERARD WAY! BWHAHAHA!)

Chapter 8: A River of Crimson

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__It was a beautiful, spring day. Gentle winds blew softly across the green fields, and the sun shone brightly upon the Earth. It was a day for happiness, and love, but a mother and child held each other dearly, weeping with each other as the clouds rolled endlessly by in the blue sky._

_Edward hugged his mother tightly, his clenched fists tightly grasping the lavender fabric of her dress. Her warm hand gently caressed his ruffled, golden hair; his tear stained face buried in her lap as stifled cries filled the mournful air._

"_Shh," Trisha started, as she lightly kissed atop of her crying son, "Don't worry my little man, everything will be alright." She hugged him closer, thus making his fists loosen a bit._

"_But," he began to choke, his face still in her lap, "Winry's parents…they're gone! She can never see them again!" he looked up into his mother's warm, brown eyes; tears ran down his flushed cheeks as he stuttered. She gave him a loving smile, and closed her eyes gently,_

"_But she will always have you and your brother to love," she said slowly. She knelt down on to one knee, looking her son in his golden, wet eyes, and embraced him lovingly. Edward's cries began to soften, as he returned a hug around her neck. He abruptly shut his eyes, trying to hold back his tears. A small smile broke through h his depressing frown, and his mind settled a bit. A warm silence developed between them as the sun's rays loomed over restlessly above them._

"_But…" she quietly started, "You won't have me to love anymore."_

_Edward slightly gasped as he opened his eyes; the sun was no longer present and the winds were fierce. The sky was pitch black, and the ground was covered with thick ash that rained from the evil sky above him. He looked back to where his home once was; he saw the red and orange flames lick evilly at the collapsing house. Windows shattered and black smoke rose quickly, leaving no trace of what was once burned._

_All of a sudden, a painful scream escaped his shocked throat. He fell from his mother's cold embrace on to the hard ground, screaming uncontrollably._

_He shockingly glanced down towards his left leg, and watched frighteningly as Hell's flames ate away at his skin. He was almost slightly mesmerized by the flaming colors inching up towards his limb, tearing away at the fabric and eating away almost to his bone. He started to cough horribly, as smoke invaded within his lungs; he fell closer to the ground. Ashes were in his eyes, and he could not see anything before him. He kicked his leg, and rolled it upon the dirt as much as he could; screams were no longer of any purpose for the burning pain had left him, and he grew tired. His face winced, and he was breathing heavily as he looked up to where his mother was above him in the dark smoke._

"_You won't have me to love anymore."_

_Edward gasped a final scream; his dying mother stood before him, engulfed in flames from head to toe. He watched as they tore away at her body; all he could see of her was her beautiful eyes, glistening with tears, but then, a final flame covered the last bit of her, and she was no longer with her son. A drop of blood escaped from her last lid._

_The heat grew more intense on Edward's limb, his screams unbearable,_

"_Someone! Please! Help me! My mom!" he cried; he watched his ashy tears hit the ground below him, forming a puddle of blood. His breaths were shorter and scratchy, he couldn't breath and he couldn't take the pain._

"_Al…where are you? Mom…" was all he could manage to breath. All of a sudden, the area around him grew silent. He was in a vacant area, with nothing around him. No more intense heat, no more flames…no more limbs._

_Edward screamed as he noticed his arm and leg were gone, blood poured from his open wounds as he tried to desperately stop the flow. Unbearable pain ran through the only veins in his body; he winced every time a tear escaped his eyes._

_He did not know how long time had passed, but poor little Edward sat there, surrounded by nothing but black. Nobody was there, and nothing was there. He was alone; his wounds continued to bleed without stopping. Yet he sat there, crying uncontrollably. Only did he noticed a perfectly preserved silver pocket watch along his side. He couldn't remember anything about it; it just sat there by him as the lion engraving on the front stared at him evilly._

_He looked back down at where his limbs were once missing, only to find mechanical limbs. They shone in the only mysterious light above him, he pondered at what had just happened. He brought up his tired head, and noticed in front of him a black coffin. He slowly rose on to his legs, and walked on his new limb, and listened to it clank against the ground._

"_Mom…?" he whispered, "Is that you?" a small smile grew on his bloody jaw._

_He continued to walk. But no matter how much he walked, the evil coffin remained in the same place. His eyes began to sting, as he started running frantically. He forgot he was holding the mysterious pocket watch in his real hand._

"_Mom?" he choked. He was running in the same place, he couldn't get near to his mother. He stopped, and fell on to his rear, more sorrowful tears escaping._

_He looked up, and gasped. A mysterious silloute stood over the coffin. A tall figure, with a beard and long golden hair tied back into a ponytail; he simply loomed over the coffin. His glasses reflected an odd light as he glared depressingly._

"_Hohenheim!" Edward's teeth gritted, and his burnt eyebrows frowned. His knuckles cracked loudly as his grip around the pocket watch tightened; he threw his arm behind him and forcefully let it leave his own hand, hoping it would dangerously hit the figure and cause him pain._

_All of a sudden, the watch mysteriously disappeared in the air with a blinding flash; Edward stood dumbstruck as he watched another smaller figure come out of nowhere near his father._

_Alphonse…_

_Edward tried to scream, but no words came out. He stood there alone, watching his father embrace his only brother. He could hear his brother's soft cries travel through the empty air._

_Why can't they see me, why can't they hear me, Edward thought._

_He was alone._

* * *

Edward awoke, and found himself panting on his back, staring up at the slow ceiling fan above him. His eyes were sore, and his fevered brow was covered in sweat. He found himself clutching the sheets around him very tightly; in the corner of his eye he found a small bloodstain upon the white sheets where his left hand was grasping. He looked at the flesh of his palm, and gasped as he saw four small incisions in his skin, caused by the clenching of his fists. His fingernails had dug into his hand due to the earlier terror.

He took a final breath, and slowly sat himself upright. He forgot he was still in his clothes he wore that day; he glanced over to the clock on his nightstand and noticed it was 5:30 PM. He had napped for at least an hour or two. He was about to swing his legs over his bed until he heard a quiet knock at his door. Ed didn't respond in any way.

The door slowly creaked open, "Ed? Are you awake?"

Edward's eyebrows quickly frowned, "Mm."

Alphonse slowly walked in, facing the floor. He quietly shut the door and made his way towards the bed. He noticed his brother, and he noticed the bloodied sheets. He sat at the end of the mattress, "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Edward's tone became harsher with each word he continued to say. Alphonse quickly turned away and began to twiddle his fingers nervously. Edward's expression continued to stay angry; he refused to look up at his brother.

It was quiet for a while; the clock beside the bed ticked annoyingly with each minute that went by.

"Did you have that dream again?" Alphonse asked quietly. Edward's eyes widened, and his fists started to clench the sheets again. He took a sigh, but still didn't look up at his brother.

"Yeah, but there was a different ending," he said angrily. Alphonse looked over his shoulder sadly, knowing that he has done something to upset his stressed brother. But why would he be mad? Yet again, he was always mad. He thought about the full can of medication pills in the cupboard that Edward never bothered to take anymore.

"Al?" Ed asked loudly. He was finally standing on his legs, he stood tall and stared up at the ceiling, as if trying to get a cramp out of his back, "You wouldn't keep secrets from me…right?"

Alphonse tried to halt a small gasp, and he quickly looked down and shook his head, "No, why?" the twiddling of his fingers intensified.

Edward walked quickly across the wooden floor, and made his way to the door, "You're my brother, my own flesh and blood. You know you can tell me anything. Even if you think it would get me mad." He tried to keep his voice low; he hated being angry with Al.

"I know." Was all he heard from his brother back on the bed. Edward reached out towards the doorknob and he intended to leave without saying good-bye. All of a sudden, another hand reached out for the knob before his did; his brother made his way out of the room before Ed could leave. Alphonse stood out in the hallway in front of a dumbstruck Edward, his back facing him,

"But technically, with you, it's not all flesh anymore."

And with that simple sentence, he made his way quickly down the hall. Edward could have sworn he heard a nervous hiccup somewhere in that sentence, but he continued to stand. He was clenching his fists again, a trickle of crimson managed to escape his once empty wounds on his left hand.

"Al!" Ed yelled down the hall; his voice echoed in the empty area. Al halted quickly in front of his bedroom door, his fists trembling.

Edward took in a nervous breath of air, "How is he?"

Alphonse slowly turned around, "What?" Edward noticed his eyes, his silver eyes, were glistening in the lights.

"You heard me," Edward choked on his words, "How is he."

Alphonse's hand was now on the doorknob; he hesitated whether or not he should enter. He quickly wiped his wet eyes, and turned around, hoping his older brother didn't notice anything.

Soon enough, Edward was alone in the hallway, with a small river of blood running down on to the floor. He stood there, without an answer; the sound of a slammed door traveled through the hall.

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chapter 9 will get on quikcly i assume, because it would proably also be short, not sure though. PLEASE REVIEW! (puppy dog eyes) 


	9. Vanished Senses

sorry people i hope you dont mind but theres no time for the reviewers responses right now, i just wanna get on with this chapter lol, but for all the ones that did leave the reviews, thank you very much and i love you all, and ill never forget you! lol

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Edward dragged his feet down the empty hall, that slammed door still rang in the back of his mind. He shouldn't have reacted that way to Alphonse. He knew that Al could be overly sensitive sometimes; he got that trait from their mother. He wondered what his brother was thinking about right now, or why he hadn't answered him. He looked back at how he acted and he groaned thinking about how he should start controlling his anger. But he hated that medicine so much…

He glanced down at his left foot as it was slowly dragging across the wooden floor. The visible metal made an uncomfortable squeaking noise, and when he took a small step, it clanked pretty loudly. He had taken off the casing before he napped, as he usually does, because it was pretty annoying at times.

As he made his way down the hallway, a delicious aroma beckoned him to make his way downstairs. Remembering the time, he realized it was almost time for dinner, and he didn't start his Italian homework yet…

He stopped on the first stair; a sound interrupted his steps. Giggling was coming from the living room below him, and it was incredibly annoying. He could tell one of them was Winry, but his eyebrow cocked in confusion at the other voice. As he tried to contain his tired yawns, he peeked over the guardrail and glanced into the room.

"By a name, I know not how to tell thee who I am," Russell started in his handsome voice, "My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee;" he held out his hand elegantly towards Winry and she giggled happily as she grasped it. They both knew that was not part of the play whatsoever, but both of them didn't seem to care as Russell pulled her closer to his side.

"Had I it written, I would tear the word." He finished, flashing a smile. Winry's skin started to flush as she tried to stop herself from giggling. Edward could have sworn he felt some vomit in the back of his throat.

Winry snapped out of the illusion from a love struck, blonde ditz to the talented actress she was, "My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words, Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound," but then she paused. She started to insanely laugh again, "Oh crap, I forget what comes next! I hate this scene," she made her way towards the couch to grab the script. Russell came up from behind her and gently grabbed her across the waist, and embraced her,

"'Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?' That's the line, we've been over it for a while," he laughed. Winry started to blush again as she let a small smile escape.

Edward was still on the stairs; he had stopped peeking after Winry had giggled for the millionth time. He was quietly gagging to himself; he hated when Winry had Russell over for dinner, or to practice their mushy lines together. Now he wished he and Al weren't in that argument; half the time they ran as far as they could from that house, probably to Sensei's. At times like these, they were actually glad to be with Sensei.

"Ed, is that you?" Winry gave away from Russell's hold and made her way towards the stairs. Edward was probably gagging too loudly, and he quickly pulled off the delusion of just simply coming down the stairs as soon as he saw Winry's head.

"Ah, yes hello," he trotted down, "I heard your LOUD laughter," Edward flashed the fakest smile in the world. He pretty much felt like an idiot, for he was surrounded by actors that could tell he wasn't amused.

"Well, did you have a nice nap? You were up there for a while," Winry asked as she flipped through random pages of the script.

"Yes, it was rather enjoyable," he lied as he took the last step. His left foot made the loudest noise it could; Edward had an uncomfortable gut feeling as Russell walked over.

"Oh, hi Ed. It's pretty rare to actually find you here," he started, but due to the noise, his curious blue eyes faced the floor where the noise had started. His one visible eye widened at what he saw. All of a sudden, Edward thrust his mechanic foot up higher for more view.

"Yep, there it is, stare all you want." Edward said sarcastically, remembering that his casing wasn't on. His cheeks started to burn a little; for Russell's expression didn't change much.

"Ah, sorry about that, I really shouldn't stare, I…" he politely turned away, as if nothing happened. Winry still stood between the two, wondering if she should butt in or not.

"Yeah, you didn't know, I get that a lot," Edward angrily filled in for him, bringing his foot back to the floor. Winry crossed her arms aggressively at Ed's expression. Edward sighed and ignored her, and he prayed she wouldn't take her wrench out on him after Russell was gone.

Edward shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and made his way towards the kitchen, " So what's for dinner?" he tried to change the subject, for he realized there was an uncomfortable silence still lingering, "Smells good."

"Squash and zucchini casserole," Winry laughed at Edward's 'wtf' expression. She rolled her eyes, "Russell's a vegetarian, and I've decided to become one to, is there a problem?"

Edward still stood there, his mouth agape. Russell tried to sustain a snicker or two.

"What the hell?" Edward started, "Now all of a sudden you don't eat meat! What the fuck is wrong with you!"

"Well, we don't need meat, that's fact." Russell started, trying to keep his voice as polite as he could. His eyebrows rose competively, as if he had beaten Edward in his own game. Ed hated this guy, and he alwayswould.

"We're animals! We eat other animals! It's nature! How can you live without meat!" Ed continued to ramble about his insane love for meat, as Winry and Russell stood there a little perturbed.

"Ed, you just got that sorry excuse from that Futurama episode," Winry interrupted, the tone of her voice annoyed. She grabbed Russell's wrist and gestured him to follow her into the kitchen.

Edward still didn't know what disgusted him more; the fact that Winry and Russell were one of the cutest couples in school, (not according to his opinion by the way) or the fact they didn't eat meat. He sat himself on the couch alone, he had a headache. He needed food, but he swore he would not eat whatever crap they were eating.

Eventually, their long, vegetarian dinner ended. Edward was sitting at the low living room table trying to attempt at his Italian. It was around 7:30 PM; he was in no rush but he was getting tired again. He also wanted to talk to Al and apologize. He wondered why he still hadn't come down. He felt horrible.

Winry and Russell made their way out towards the kitchen; Edward was on the verge to punch Winry's boyfriend in the face if he said one more polite thing to Granny again.

Winry quickly ran past Ed to get her jacket lying next to him on the couch, "Russell and I are going to the mall quickly, want anything to eat?"

Edward sighed annoyinglyas he reached into his pocket. He fumbled for a while, but pulled out a 10-dollar bill, "Get me something from the food court that is meaty…just so I can annoy the hell out of you." He flashed a smile.

Winry rolled her eyes as she quickly took his money from his hand, "You don't need something 'meaty' to annoy me." Russell started to laugh as he slipped into his Abercrombie jacket. As Winry stood with her red zip up, she looked around the room confusingly.

"Is Al still upstairs? I thought I told him to go and wake you up, but he never came back down…" she paused. All of a sudden her eyebrows frowned sharply, and she began to shout angrily at Edward, "What did you say to him!"

Edward dropped his pencil; shocked at first, but then his expression became similar as Winry's, "I didn't say anything! He's the one that comes up and starts acting all emo--!"

The quarreling duo paused, as they slowly glanced over to Russell who was standing with an uncomfortable look in his eye. They had also noticed Pinako had poked her head out from the kitchen due to the noise. Winry smiled cheesily, as she patted Edward painfully on the head,

"Lets have this conversation elsewhere," she grinned, and grabbed Edward's wrist with force, causing him to yelp. As she dragged him past Russell, Edward quietly mouthed 'I hate her.'

Edward and Winry were now standing outside in front of the door. A cold breeze was blowing, and Edward was shivering due to the fact he didn't have his jacket. He hated how it was so calm during the day and that it got very windy as soon as the sun set.

Winry started to hiss quietly, "What are you talking about 'all emo'? Where do you get your excuses!" she suddenly smacked him upside the head.

Edward winced in pain as he rubbed the side of his head. He didn't have anything rude to shout back at her, or even an answer. Did he really say that about Alphonse? He hoped he didn't act like that all the time.

"Sorry," Edward started; Winry's once furious eyes widened. He was apologizing? What was the world coming to tonight? She shook her head, and lowered her anger down a bit. The two paused for a moment, and a stronger breeze began to cross their path. Winry hugged herself warmer, but Edward continued to stand, still shivering a little.

"Winry… how does Al act around you?" Edward finally asked. He sat down on the stone step crossing his arms over his knees. He rested his chin upon them and stared into the empty yard.

Winry continued to hug herself, "He acts like himself. Why?"

Edward paused, still in his position. He answered quietly, "I don't know..."

Winry sighed. She was a little confused; the bond between these two brothers got really complicated at times. She crossed her arms and leaned against the black guardrail, "Well, maybe it's that last letter. I mean, anyone would get at least a little shocked, even people like Al." she simply shrugged.

Edward's eyes widened. His breaths seemed to increase as he stood himself up. He forgot about the temperature outside; he had stopped trembling from the winds. It was as if all the veins in his body were filling with immense heat. He slowly turned, facing Winry in her eyes with a dark stare, "What did you say?"

Winry's face twisted in confusion, "The letter…? Did you not hear me?" Her confused face started to soften into a worried appearance as she noticed Edward's breathing.

All of a sudden, he grabbed Winry's shoulders, and stared her deeply in her cerulean eyes. She thought he was going to shout, but was surprised as he asked quietly, "You knew about those letters?"

Winry silently gasped as she pulled away from Edward's hold, "You mean…you didn't know?"

Edward backed away, and looked as if he were going to fall, but caught himself on the rail behind him. Winry started to shake her head more, "But…"

"Al didn't even tell me…how long has this been going on!" he managed to choke as he interrupted Winry.

She didn't answer, but filled in her last sentence, "He said…that both of you were writing…Granny and I thought…" she stopped herself, wondering if she should continue. She turned around and looked through the small glass window behind her; Russell was still standing near the stairs. Her grandmother had also came out of the kitchen; Winry assumed she was talking to him about mechanics considering he was one of the best in her class.

Edward still hadn't responded in any way, he continued to wipe away the beads of sweat from his flushed brow. All of a sudden he started to laugh, "Ha. No one even trusts me anymore. Not even my own brother…"

Winry hated to see Edward like this. Every time he was really upset, he tried to conceal his anger with laughter, or he pretended to be fine. But he wasn't; She felt terrible at this point; she wanted to hug him and tell him it was all right like his mother did. But she continued to stand uncomfortably as she watched him.

Edward's laughs softened down a bit, as he shook his head slowly side to side. As of now, he was glad he didn't know that everyone around him was communicating with that bastard. He didn't want to be part of it. If his brother, best friend, and even his teacher wanted to associate with that bastard, they could go along with it. And they could all go and see him when he gets back. Edward didn't care.

"I'm going for a walk," he started to make his way down the small steps and run off into the darkness. Winry stood there dumbstruck, trying to hold back a small tear, "You'll freeze!" she yelled down her driveway. Edward continued to run down the path, and Winry sighed. They were out for about 15 minutes. Russell was still inside, and she needed to get her dress for Homecoming. As she turned, she looked up at the window above her, and could have sworn he saw someone quickly turn away from the window in Alphonse's room. Winry's brows softly frowned as she sniffed,

_Why Al?_

* * *

The full moon shone brilliantly that night; the black sky twinkled with the brightest of stars, and the winds had eased down a bit. It was a peaceful night; nightingales sang their songs beautifully though the still air.

Edward ran his fingers across the engraved letters on the stone; they were engraved carefully on smooth stone that glistened in the moonlight. Edward couldn't feel that stone with his right hand; his mother's grave had no touch.

Beautiful flowers bloomed from the earth were Trisha Elric's grave stood. But Edward couldn't see the bright colors, for it was very dark, or smell the aromas, for they were closed.

And he couldn't hear anything. The birds had rested from their tunes, and the Earth was very quiet and calm; no noise settled around him. He was alone; he wasn't sure if he was able to hear his tears fall upon the ground below him.

Edward was kneeling upon the mound, staring upon the smooth stone. He wished it wasn't dark, he couldn't read the lettering of his mother's name. But he knew it would always be there for him. Him and Al. But never for their father.

He had never seen her grave; he had never came within yards of the cemetery. He would never be able to see her, never be able to feel her. She was gone.

Edward slowly reached into the pocket of his pants, but paused. He sniffed a little as his fingers grasped around the brim of that dreadful watch.

_Please Edward, go get that watch,_

He held it in his palm; the engravings shone as brightly as the stone before him. He was glad at this point he couldn't witness the lion etching on the cover.

_It is all I have of him…the watch…_

Edward forcefully shut his eyes, and tried to sustain his stinging tears. With his lids still closed, he started to open the pocket watch; the hatch clicked open uneasily and the clock itself was actually visible, as the cover lay open.

Don't forget Oct. 3.

But he could never forget, that dreadful day. It was permanent upon the watch. The only thing his mother owned that she could remember their father of, was that watch. And he ruined it, by etching it with a date that should just be forgotten. This watch wasn't meant to hold painfulmemories for himself; it didn't belong to him.

"Mom…I'm sorry…" he sniffed as he placed the pocket watch upon the mound below him. He had saved it for her, and lost something important to him. He glanced at his metal limbs, that had no shine that night; he had recieved them in return from running from his mother to that watch. But he was able to see her last smile...She was happy to know that somewhere in this world, a piece of her husband was still in the good hands of her son.

Should he give it up? She wanted him to have it; she told him to get it. She was on death's door, but yet she wanted it to be saved and cherished. Trisha loved him so much. But he didn't want to own it anymore, he coudln't bear to near it tick anymore.

Edward didn't have any senses that night. He could not hear, nor see, or feel anything. Everything was just silent and cold. His heart screamed for his mother, but it didn't feel warm as it did when he was able to see her; it was cold.

The only thing he was able to see were his still tears fall, and the dreaded etching he carved upon that watch. It rang evilly inthe front of his mindas he left it at the grave.

_Mother would tell me anything…Al…why won't you?_

* * *


	10. How?

omg i am so sorry that the wait was really long, i was on vacation, and i didnt have time! i hope this was worth the wait, and if it isnt im sorry! im currently writng chapter 11 as of now, so im sure that will get on soon. i also have to read farenheit 451 and the lost boy, so sorry if theres delays again.

also, im reaally sorry, but reviewers responses wont be here again...im really pissed, i just typed them ALL, but then my computer froze and it didnt save, and instead of typing them all out again, im just gonna sum it up into a big "thank you very much readers for reviewing, you made me dance gleefully and say SQUEE aloud, because those were the most reviews i got and im oh so happy, and all of you rule and i would type the responses again but im afraid the computer might freeze again"

eh. sorry. i guarentee you, responses will be on the next chapter,but all you have to do for a response is leave a nice review for this chapter!thanks!

* * *

"He can tell you why when he's ready." 

Miss Ross sat on the stool across from the blonde student, as she always did. Her legs crossed, and her clipboard grasped evenly in her hands, she listened attentively to him.

"I can't see how he can possibly not be ready to begin with," he groaned as he started to kick his legs nervously while he laid upon the red sofa, "He's my own brother…"

"You also have to remember, he had a lot to go through too, even if he wasn't present at the time it happened…"she trailed off slowly, hoping her last words didn't upset him. Gradually looking up from her clipboard, she sighed as he abruptly shut his eyelids and turned over on to his side. An uneasy silence settled within the small room; the only noise was the sound of a fine point pen scribbling upon parchment.

"Do you think a lot of people realize I come in here all the time?" he asked quietly, attempting to change the subject. Miss Ross paused with her writing, and pondered, not knowing how she could answer that question. He always did come in to talk to her, and she knew his entire background and life. She had never known so much about one troubled student. But he had a lot to settle, and she was always happy to help him. But at times, his stories made her feel sorry as well, and made her wonder if there was anything she could really do to help.

"It doesn't matter," she started, "The only people that should care about that are your teachers…" she finished writing out a neat pass for him to get back to his English class.

The thought of teachers made Edward sit upright, his fists began to clench. He was able to hear the mechanisms in his right hand turn and click as he tightened his hand with all his anger.

"Even damn Roy lied to me…" he said to himself, but quickly stopped, as he noticed Miss Ross' surprised expression.

"Roy…?" she asked confusingly, "You don't mean Roy Mustang, the chemistry teacher?" she leaned forward, expecting to hear more from Edward. He just continued to sit, an unusual emotion of nervousness traveled through his mind. He took a heavy sigh,

"Yes…" he leaned back into a slump against the back of the couch, "He used to be good friends with my father…so…" he didn't finish his sentence, instead, he crossed his arms against his chest heatedly, his face twisted in slight anger.

"Hmm," Maria started, "You never told me that before, any particular reason why?" she swept a low, black bang from the side of her soft face as she waited for him to respond.

"No," he quickly lied, hoping his face didn't give off the expression that he wasn't telling the truth. He never really was a good liar; it was proven for the millions of times Granny caught him messing around in the cookie jar with Al when he was younger.

"I see." To Maria it was obvious that he was keeping a fact to himself, but she didn't want to bother him or let him worry. She remembered to get back on track, "What do you mean he lied?"

All of a sudden, Edward let out a small chuckle, making Miss Ross slightly puzzled. He started, "It's a simple thing, don't you think? Just like how everyone else did. He told me he hadn't heard from him at all, and then he goes and keeps all those damn letters without telling me…" he ended with his rambling, noticing he had spoken fast within those few seconds. He glanced over to Miss Ross, who was back to writing. He always wondered what she was writing about; he didn't think there was a purpose whatsoever.

"That's because he cares about you," she smiled warmly, and glanced into Edward's shocked eyes. He continued to stare perplexed, with a twitch of anger in his brows.

"Try to imagine yourself in HIS position Edward," she answered his silent question, "He doesn't want you to worry about things like that. Even if it's an important matter such as the letters, and I doubt he was trying to keep it a secret. If he is your friend like you say, I'm pretty sure he would have eventually told you."

One of Edward's eyebrows cocked in confusion, still not understanding what she was trying to say. He could slightly make out her point, and in the back of his mind, he agreed. But either way, everyone didn't want him to know.

"And Edward," she interrupted his thoughts, "You always claim you don't want anything to do with your father. I think they are just returning the favor by simply leaving you out of it." Her voice remained calm as she slowly spoke. She secretly hoped that none of her opinions upset him.

Edward sat dumbstruck, stunned by her words. She was partially right, even though he didn't want to admit it aloud. He sat back, still thinking about the conversation he had with Winry those few nights ago.

_He said both of you were writing…Granny and I thought…_

His brow aggressively frowned at that sentence as it rang rapidly in his mind, "Damn it, you're wrong. He's not telling me something, and it's not about that bastard, it's about HIM." He mumbled to himself, forgetting about the fact another person was present with him. All of a sudden, a shrill ringing of the phone interrupted his words; he slightly jumped as Miss Ross grabbed the phone and answered politely.

Edward began to pack his things into his bag, along with his English workbook and other supplies. He glanced into the front pocket of his bag; it was awkward not to see that cursed watch there anymore.

"Alright, he's on his way, thank you," Maria gently hung up as she noticed Edward rise on his feet, knowing that he was terribly late for his class.

"Well Edward," she also stood, flipping through some papers on her clipboard, "If you want, I'm free during Advisory on Thursday, if you want to talk again." She looked down at Edward, as he slowly nodded.

They made their way to the heavy doors at the end of the office. Edward's face still expressed sorrow; Maria frowned as she reached for the doorknob.

"Don't worry Ed," she said quietly, "Everything's going to be all right."

A small smile started to grow on his jaw as he heard those words,

"Yeah… thanks Mom…" Edward abruptly paused. His golden eyes widened as he inhaled through his nostrils sharply.

Maria quietly gasped, her hand coming up to her mouth in a reflex to quiet herself. She noticed Edward's shocked expression; he hadn't blinked once yet, and his breathing pattern was immensely increasing.

She was surprised herself; this was something she was new too. She didn't know how to respond, so she simply placed her hand on his right shoulder, "It's okay, don't let it bother you, you're not the only one that's said that to a teacher before…" she tried to sound calm, but his eyes remained the same. His shoulder felt cold.

Before she knew it, he was out in the hall, his bag flying by his side as he ran. She looked outside the door, and noticed him wipe his eyes as secretly as he could.

She watched him turn swiftly, and heard him run quickly up the side stairs. Maria still stood in the doorway, a mournful expression in her dark eyes.

She wasn't too sure, and it could have been her imagination, but she could have sworn Edward had looked somewhat taller as he ran.

* * *

Izumi stood in front of the glass window, observing the streets outside. Rain was pouring rapidly upon the town; citizens attempted to run down the streets with newspapers and plastic bags over their heads. Fierce winds unfortunately decided to make the weather more miserable, by turning some weak umbrellas inside out. Every time a speeding car drove by, a large puddle of rainwater splashed upon the sidewalk, making the area seriously muddy. 

She sighed, and turned around, letting her sore back lean against the cold glass. She looked over to her two students that were separated on far sides of the dim room. Alphonse and Edward had not spoken to each other during their session. It had been like that for a while, but with each day, the emotions seemed to worsen. She had noticed Al in particular while he was practicing; his expression portrayed anxiety, and he seemed almost scared to talk to his brother. He wasn't doing as well as he always did. However, during meditation, he was deep in concentration, as if he was focusing on one thing immensely.

Edward had remained the same throughout the hours. He was oddly catching up very quickly, which was surprising because of all the missed classes due to the past detentions. He had a blank stare, and he didn't speak once. Izumi was confused with him, for last week, he seemed very angry. It was obvious that they were in some sort of argument, but it seemed much more serious when she noticed Edward's angry scowls and foul language. But today, he was unusually quiet, and he refused to meditate. Normally, if her students didn't listen, Izumi would discipline them with more painful training, but she let him off easily.

They were fully dressed back in there clothes sitting in different corners, both doing homework and whatnot. Izumi had also noticed that they were both wearing more black. She didn't appreciate the warm clothing Al had become comfortable to wearing either. Edward at times had bothered not even to let his hair in a braid; it just hung low in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"I wonder if the rain will ever stop," she finally broke the silence with a simple statement. Just then a crack of lightning flashed through the sky; booming thunder followed it quickly after. The boys obviously wanted to drive home, but she refused to let them out in the weather. At times, she thought she was too cautious with them.

Noticing that they both didn't respond in any way, she sighed and rubbed her temples; she slowly walked in to her office on the other side of the room without a word, hoping that maybe she could nap for a while.

Edward looked up from his writing; his tired fingers were sore, his eyelids yearned to close, and stifled yawns managed to escape his lips. He lazily tossed his ballpoint pen aside; to him, he considered it as an insult to Shakespeare. He hated writing essays about that man, and just having a mere thought about that poet made him think to much, and he already had to much on his mind. He could hardly focus. When he thought of those difficult words, his plays rang through Edward's mind. And then he thought of Winry, which then trailed off to that cursed Russell. When he thought of those two people, his emotions were mixed. He wasn't too sure if he should feel relaxed, or heated with annoyance. But either way, English made his mind wander, thus giving him a headache. He hated it with a passion, along with other things.

But hatred shouldn't matter today, he thought, as he looked over to his brother across the room. Those past weeks were full of peril, unusual stares, and angry silence. At times, Edward wasn't able to believe that he treated his only family that way.

_That's not your only family you know._

Edward sighed angrily. He got up to his feet, and his mind halted. He attempted to move forward, but his mind ceased to think, and it was as if he couldn't remember how to take two easy steps.

"Hi Al," Edward wasn't too sure if he was trying to whisper. He had reached his destination in front of his confused brother, who meekly stared above.

Alphonse didn't answer, but he continued to stare through those silver eyes, in bewilderment, yet somehow, he seemed relieved. When Edward noticed his expression, it reminded him of Roy writing at his desk, "_Do you think I'm a good teacher? Am I doing a good job?"_

"Ed, I noticed a while back," Alphonse's voice rang through the silence, "Your bottle in the cupboard, it fell over one day when I went to get a band aid…" he silently gulped, "It sounded half empty when it hit the ground you know."

Edward muffled a laugh, "Now why do you say half empty when you can say half full?" He wasn't so sure if he should say anything else, or continue to wonder.

Alphonse sat back against the wall comfortably, placing his hands behind his head, "I don't know."

Edward didn't know it would start off this way; he didn't even think Alphonse would speak to him. He didn't even think that he would have the courage to say

"I'm sorry," Alphonse's voice broke the still air as he sat upright. He stared into Edward's eyes, sternly, forgivingly.

Edward stood above him shockingly and blinked, "What are you talking about, I'm the one that should be sorry…!"

"No, I should have told you,"

"I don't care about that, you had the right not to tell me…"

"What do you mean?"

"And I treated you so horribly…"

"No you didn't, you were just upset,"

"Dammit Al, if you hated our father as much as I do, I probably would have done the same thing, ok!" Edward choked on his last word, his chest move up and down uneasily.

Alphonse looked down, hoping his confusion was not noticeable. Alphonse rarely had time to focus himself on things, even though he literally did have time during the day, he seemed to portray his emotions more with actions than words. He wondered if he even ever took the time to merely think of simple words. But his mind ran through some thoughts, when he noticed his brother. Edward was scared, and alone. Even though he had family, he was alone. He had gone through much more then Alphonse ever would have. Alphonse often wondered what the heat felt like, or what the smoke smelled of, or as much as he hated to wonder, what their mother looked like when she took her final breath. But he did know, that she smiled, because of Edward. And yet, was it really Edward she was smiling for, or their father…? No she loved us, Al thought, and we loved her.

He really didn't know the story behind that watch, he wasn't too sure if Edward knew about it either. Al never even held that watch in his palms. But he used to watch Edward grasp it at times, but it was always in his right hand; never his left. And Alphonse knew why, his brother refused to feel it upon his real skin.

It was as if Alphonse couldn't feel anything, for he didn't see anything that night. Is he happy that he wasn't there or is it the other way around? He didn't know, and he thought he would never know.

"Do you want to know my list for today?" Edward's voice startled Al's rushing thoughts. He turned over and noticed his brother was now seated next to him, and was glancing over to Al with concern. He had a softgrin on his jaw. His emotions were still changing pretty rapidly, which was surprising, considering that he had been taking his medication.

Alphonse couldn't help but manage to smile also, "You're supposed to keep it to yourself during meditation like Sensei said."

Edward ignored his brother's statement, and began to count off of his fingers,

"You and Winry, picking vegetables for Mom's stew, down by the fruit trees and garden, right now, and because I miss doing all those things," he finally stopped on his fifth finger, and took a long sigh.

Alphonse laughed warmly, "Mine was pretty much the same thing too," his grin shone brighter. It felt good to smile, he thought, he almost forgot what it felt like.

"Hey I just realized something," Alphonse started, "The teachers in school always tell you 'who, what, where, when, why, and HOW,'" he emphasized on his last word, "How come we don't have to do the 'how' on our list?"

Edward smiled, "Because it doesn't begin with a w, that's why."

A final crack of lightning pierced through the dark sky; the sound of thunder grew faint.

* * *

Please review! again sorry about the responses! and the delay! and if it wasnt worth the wait! and other things...ugh. 


	11. When You Wish Upon A Penny

Wow, this chapter came on really quickly! So only two reviewer's response, since two people left comments:

**Aztec Goddess: **No, I never explained the title before so don't feel stupid lol. I put it there for people to figure it out on their own. I'm glad to hear that was a good chapter though! Yeah, I wanted Ed to call Ross his mom, because in one episode when he was in Lab 5, he did when she hugged him, so yeah, that's where I got the idea. Yep, Ed and Al are indeed getting along! (reads this chapter) OR ARE THEY? dun dun dun haha

**ScarvsState:** wow, that comment made me very happy! i want to write a book though, about my life. cause lots of weird and dramatic things have happened in my life actually. i dont know if youd read it though. lol

Thanks guys! And now onto the chapter! R&R!

* * *

"Ed, you should stop and look at yourself…"

"Shh! Al, look! There they are!" Edward pointed down below him, to a couple sitting at a bench in front of the fountain. Ed attempted to hide himself behind a potted plant, and observe the duo laughing on the first floor, while Al simply stood leaning against the rails, with crossed arms.

The mall was very crowded that day, full of many teenagers, specifically girls, rushing about in expensive stores, to proudly purchase their dresses for Homecoming. Some unfortunate boyfriends were dragged by the hand from them, to try on new shoes, or toget a tuxedo to match the color of his girlfriend's dress. Of course some passer bys were giving Edward some strange looks when he hid behind the over sized leaves, but he simply ignored them.

"Look at them…it makes me sick," Ed's face grimaced as he saw Winry giggle from one of Russell's jokes.

The two of them were simply sitting together on a wooden bench, as the waters from the fountain splashed playfully in front of them. Winry had a sum amount of bags by her side, probably full of things that Russell had bought for her. And worst of all

"And look, she's wearing her hair down with him!" Edward suddenly shouted to himself, his hands coming to his forehead in shock.

Alphonse, however, continued to stare oddly at his brother's behavior.

"I thought we were going to get a studded belt or something…" Al asked, but trailed off when he realized Edward still wasn't listening. He rolled his eyes, and pulled on the chain hanging from his belt loop that went hidden in his pocket. On his last tug, a black wallet came out easily, dangling off the silver chain.

"You already know I have to many of those," Edward grumbled, his eyes were only fixed below him. He heard Alphonse fumbling with the wallet, and surprisingly turned, "Now where are you going?"

"I'm getting a soda, the only thing that's sick here, is you." Al now had about 5 dollars in his palm, and stuck the wallet back into his pocket, letting the chain dangle by his side once again. He simply walked off to the busy food court behind them. Edward sighed angrily, and got back to his spying. At the moment he thought one of them was about to look up at the second floor, he leaped behind the plant and hid.

From behind the trunk of the plant, he leaned over to take another look, resulting in widened eyes and a gasp. He witnessed Russell's arm inch slowly down Winry's side; his hand was then caressing her hip.

All of a sudden, Edward heard a loud, sickening crack. He looked at his right hand; a branch from the plant was now clenched in his fist. He glanced back to the stump where it was angrily snapped off, and he embarrassingly grinned to himself, quickly dropping the branch down onto the ground.

He quickly took a glance at Winry's expression; her cheeks were flushed but she looked obviously uncomfortable. Ed smiled triumphantly as soon as she leisurely scooted aside, and started to tell Russell something. At this point, Edward wished he could read lips…

He gasped loudly, feeling a cold sensation travel down the back of his neck. He smacked where it was once numb, and turned around forcefully, only to find Alphonse behind him holding a cold soda, grinning widely.

"Ha, scared ya," Alphonse took a long sip while Edward grunted, still rubbing the back of his neck.

"Did you just see that!" Edward pointed once again to the bench, and Alphonse sighed annoyingly.

"It's called 'personal displays of affection' Ed, every couple does it," Al commented sarcastically, pausing from his sip.

"Ha, more like FDA if you ask me, he's focusing on her, determined to get something, and-"

Alphonse quickly interrupted, "I don't want to hear about the accelerating part, thanks."

"Winry obviously doesn't enjoy his COMPANY!" he grasped the rail in front of him, and shook his angry fist in the air. Alphonse grabbed Edward's shoulder quickly, to prevent him from throwing himself down on to the first floor.

"Jeez, get a hold of yourself," Alphonse, for the first time in a long time, sounded pretty forceful with those words, "If she doesn't enjoy his company, why would she go out with him?"

"Ha, to make the rumors stop, that's why,"

"Ed!"

"What? I'm just saying, ever since they became 'the couple' no one says anything bad about her anymore! It's clear Al, it's the only reason she'll ever go out with him!" Edward crossed his arms and huffed angrily, he looked up at his brother, who stood with a shocked expression.

"Ed, then you should feel happy for her if you love her so much…"

Edward's eyes widened, "Who ever said I loved her!"

Alphonse ignored his brother's statement and continued, "And I guess it should be a good thing for you too, after all, you were a big part in those rumors, and now you don't have to worry about being the father of someone's imaginary baby." Alphonse slyly grinned.

Edward opened his mouth widely, "You know what…!" he stuck his index finger in the air with pride, as to make a point, but paused, "Damn…your right."

Alphonse laughed proudly, "That's what I thought," he sipped annoyingly on the last ounce of soda.

Edward's eyes widened evilly as he heard that last sip, and he almost began to cackle to himself. He held out his hand, "Give me your soda."

Alphonse cocked an eyebrow, and shook the cup, "It's empty--"

"Just give it to me!"

Al rolled his eyes, and handed over the empty cup. Edward held it in his hands with conceit, and he started to take the plastic cap off and toss it aside, forgetting about the fact he was littering. Into his right palm, he poured out all the remaining ice. Little rivers of cold water dripped off the cubes and ran down his hand; the numb feeling of the frozen water wasn't present in his palm.

Alphonse's eyes widened and he asked with a scared voice, "Ed…what are you doing…" he wasn't sure if he should laugh, or stop his brother as soon as he saw him pick up the largest ice cube.

"This is for all the times I hit someone in dodge ball…and god dammit that game had better paid off," Edward brought his hand back forcefully, and within a matter of seconds, Russell's painful reaction was heard.

"Ha! Take that you pervert!" Edward shouted to himself, but in his dismay, had shouted to loudly. Russell was looking up at where Ed was standing, rubbing the side of his head where the cube hit. Winry was staring also, but evilly, with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping. Edward's smile quickly vanished. He turned to his side where his brother stood, but gritted his teeth to find no one there. He looked behind him, and found Alphonse sitting at a table in the court, not to far away, waving and grinning.

Ed angrily cuffed his palms around his mouth and yelled, "You fucking traitor!" Alphonse simply laughed.

"Edward!" Winry's high- pitched scream traveled through the mall; some shoppers stopped in their tracks to look over the rail to see who was responsible for the yell. Ed forgot that other people were witnessing, and whined back, "What!"

"You are in so much damn trouble!" she screamed, and pointed an angry finger at him, also oblivious to the fact that people were frighteningly watching.

"Oh shut up you slut!" Edward yelled back, somewhat jokingly, but still with an angry undertone. Some of the witnesses began to gasp, most of the girls watched with an angry glare towards Edward, the boyfriends were laughing.

"What did you call me!" she gasped angrily, her fists clenched. Russell was still trying to calm her down. He put his hands on her shoulder to try and gesture her to sit.

"You heard me you whore!" he paused when he saw Russell, "Hey! Thinking of other places to put those hands, huh!"

Winry cheeks turned the brightest of red, no one was to sure if it resulted from anger, or if she was blushing shyly from his statement, "Ed, just shut up and leave us alone! Your being a huge asshole…!" her eyes started to sting. She looked around at the shoppers, "What the fuck are you looking at!"

Edward couldn't help but mange to laugh as the frightened witnesses quickly took off. He proudly crossed his arms, knowing he hadwon the fight single handedly.

Winry forcefully grabbed the wrist of Russell, who was still rubbing the pain away from the hit, she turned on the balls of her heels, holding her many bags in the other hand. She simply stormed off with Russell following, and was soon out of sight.

Edward was holding his sides, still laughing to himself, but paused, only to find very angry glares from passing girls.

"You jerk," one girl said, and kicked him in the left shin. Edward didn't respond in any way, but simply snickered when the girl started to hop in result of the pain in her toes.

"Ah, at times like these I'm glad to have fake parts," he knocked happily on his right forearm and grinned. He walked over to where Al was once sitting and laughing. However, his arms were crossed angrily, and his brows were frowned.

Edward sat in the chair across the table without a word, his face bewildered, "What are you so mad about?"

"You didn't take them today did you."

"Ok, you really sound weird…"

"Just last week you promised you were going to take them every day!"

"So? I forgot."

"Do you even know what just happened!" Alphonse raised his voice. He even attempted to hide his face from the witnesses that were still present; he really didn't want to be seen with that one 'jerk' that everyone was talking about in the mall.

"Oh come on Al, I was just kidding around," Edward leaned back comfortably and sighed, "She'll forgive me like that," and he snapped his fingers.

Alphonse shut his eyes in shame, "As much as I hate saying this, I'm going to say it anyway," he inhaled deeply, "You are indeed being a fucking asshole."

Edward sat his jaw agape, "Whoa, I never heard you talk like that," he laughed jokingly, only to pause when he figured out that his brother was not amused.

"And then when we get home…" Alphonse started to mutter to himself, and shivered nervously, "She might take her wrench out on me too…"

Edward rolled his eyes, "Ok, was it that bad to make you think she'll kill you with the wrench? Because only I am preserved for that wrench, and I didn't even think I'd get smacked by it once I got home."

Alphonse huffed annoyingly, "Yes! It was that bad!" he tried to change the subject, "I can't believe you didn't take them…"

Edward felt his face starting to steam,

_Mom…reading a good book…in front of the fireplace…dammit, right now…why? Because I'm pissed off that's why._

He closed his eyelids calmly, and took a deep breath, "I tell you what. When we get home I'll apologize or whatever, but right now, I feel like doing something nice."

Alphonse pondered at his brother's odd grin, "What…"

"While we're here, and while I have the money, I was thinking about getting you something…" he paused, "Something like art supplies."

Al's silver eyes widened, and his voice quivered, "Huh?"

"You know, for your art classes, and that painting," he looked down, almost ashamed to admit, "I was thinking about getting them for you as an apology for what happened last time…NOT a bribe if that's what your thinking, but just a nice thing to do…" Edward continued with his rambling.

Alphonse sat back while Ed talked to himself; he couldn't remember if he had blinked once yet, and he tried to keep his face straight, and he nervously laughed, "Uh, you really don't need to do that, but thanks though…"

"And," Edward filled in, "I was hoping I could see it sometime--"

"It's not done yet." Alphonse's voice was stern as he interrupted, "There's….a lot of mistakes I need to fix…"

Edward stared with concern, and looked down, "Well…ok then."

All of a sudden, Alphonse stood on his feet, his hands in his pockets. He looked away from his brother, facing the escalators.

"Forget the supplies," he said quietly, "I'd rather go home and get this over with…" he shivered once again when he thought about Winry being angry.

Edward rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

* * *

"Come on Russell, make a wish already!" 

He grinned, holding the penny in his fingers, "Why should I wish for something when I have all I could ever want," he stared deeply into Winry's cerulean eyes, causing her to blush and giggle.

"Your such a romantic," she smiled, taking the penny from his hand, "Fine, I'll make a wish," she held it in her hands, and closed her eyes, but paused. Before she closed her lids, she could have sworn she saw something familiar above her. A speck of blonde…? She observed the noticeable potted plant near the food court on the second floor, but shook her head realizing that could have been anybody's blonde hair.

She tossed the penny in the fountain in front of her, it landed with a small splash.

"What did you wish for?" Russell asked, placing his arm around her shoulders.

She laughed, "Silly, I can't tell you or it won't come true!" she let her tired head lean upon his strong shoulders, "I think we did to much shopping today…"

Russell didn't answer, but began to caress her arm gently. Winry felt like she was getting a fever as soon as she felt his hand move down her side. For some reason, a small squeak escaped her throat as she inched away politely. Russell just stared a bit perplexed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Winry sighed, not knowing if she should feel embarrassed, "Sorry, I just thought that was sudden, you know, with all the people around…" she looked around and referred to he many shoppers rushing by.

Russell frowned a bit, almost disappointed, "Of course, I'm sorry." He managed to grin a small smile again.

Winry sighed softly, and sat back comfortably. Homecoming was approaching very quickly, and she was feeling so happy. Nothing could ruin her day.

"Ah!" Russell winced in pain; Winry quickly looked over her shoulder to find him rubbing the side of his head, an aching expression on his face, "What the hell was that?"

"Ha, take that you pervert!"

For some reason, Winry was able to hear that one statement. That one little statement, rang loudly above all the noise in the mall, above all the people running in and out of stores. She looked down next to her, to find a large ice cube next to Russell. Her head quickly turned above, and her eyebrows quickly frowned.

"Edward!" she screamed in a high-pitched voice to the second floor.

_Now it's obvious my wish didn't come true…_

* * *

I had so much fun writing that chapter, you wouldn't believe it. As weird as it may sound, I was once in a situation like that, so I can relate to it I suppose. (grin) Anyway, be lovely and leave reviews please! 


	12. Trailing Thoughts

WOW! Sorry, this wait was extremely long, I apologize but I have been very busy. Anyways, here's Chapter 12, enjoy!

**WildfireDreams:** Thank you very much for that comment, I really appreciate that you enjoy this story and that you're reading.

**Shingami's-Girl:(**ch. 11)MWHAHAH YES! ED IS EVIL! AND WE ARE EVIL! YAY!

**Shinigami's-Girl:(**ch. 10) YAY! (does a happy dance) WE ARE SO COOL LIKE THAT!

**Unkown:** Well, I really am trying my best to keep this story organized, so thanks for the comment! I hope you keep reading!

**Aztec Goddess:** Congrats on finishing your story btw lol! Yes, I was in a situation, except i was the one who threw a nickel at someones head that I hated, and we started screaming at each other. WRATH IS SO CUTE AWWWWW!

**KatieKitty98**: YAY! I AM ROCKIN KNEE HIGH SOCKS ALL OVER THE PLACE! (grins proudly for my knee high rainbow socks) Anyways, thank's for the loverly comment!

**MookieChan:** Thanks for the review! Haha, yes I had alot of fun typing that chapter XD

**ScarvsState:** Yes, I did an amazing rush job because I had a lot of fun typing that chapter, and I coudlnt stop hahaha. Sorry this one came on so late though lol. WHEE IM ROCKIN SOCKS!

Please r&r!

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__What mistakes do I need to fix?_

Alphonse pondered; his gray eyes were fixed upon the painting in front of him. It spoke out to him, like a message, and it had a meaning that he would one day understand…

_Alphonse poked his head around the corner of the wall, and tried to remain as silent as can be. He looked down to the floor below him as his feet nervously shuffled. His fingers were eagerly wrapped around the corner, as he tried to keep himself upright while he leaned secretly._

_He watched the fine bristled brush dance upon the easel, making swift moves ever so gently to create something beautiful. He could hear it whispering quietly as it moved, as if the art sang a quiet song to him._

"_Alphonse, you may come in if you like," her warm voice almost sang along; her eyes were still fixed only to what was being created in front of her._

_Alphonse quietly walked over to the table, a look of concern in his bewildered eyes. His mother sat comfortably in a wooden chair, a paintbrush grasped gently in her long fingers._

_Enthralling colors lay orderly upon the paper, connecting together in the most stunning way to form a fine work of art; Alphonse eagerly tried to pull his small body up closer as he grasped the end of the unorganized table. _

"_Mommy, what are you painting?" he asked in his timid voice, a look of confusion upon his face._

_Trisha smiled affectionately, and paused from her work, "Do you see the flowers over on the windowsill?" she nodded her head towards the white daises that blew gently in the breeze, the sun's rays gently caressed the soft petals._

_Alphonse cocked his eyebrow, and looked back at Mother's painting. Throughout his life of running playfully around in the garden, he had learned that daises on most occasion were a pure white._

"_But mommy, the daises you're drawing don't look like those," he pointed a small finger to the windowsill, but kept his eyes upon her work. Her painting was much more colorful and alive. She didn't even draw a windowsill like there was before her, instead, a green field with a bright sun._

_Trisha laughed, "You don't have to paint what you see Alphonse," she dipped her brush into a mixture of red and white paint, "When I see a daisy, or any flower for that matter, I see something different," she brought the brush to the easel, "I see a new life that is being bloomed…and to me, life has more color."_

_Alphonse still stared with his puzzled eyes, and gestured himself to be seated into his mother's warm lap. He did so, and she kept one arm around his waist while she continued to paint. Her hazel eyes darted from windowsill to easel, windowsill to easel, and it went on like that until the daises refused to dance along with the gentle breeze._

Alphonse never painted what he saw, but what he felt. He felt as if he had nothing to see anymore, but enough emotions to guide his hand wherever it had to go. But sometimes, certain emotions were born from his memories, and those he needed to forget, for they were too painful to grasp.

_I see…that is the mistake I made…_

A painting should always be finished, he thought, or that's at least what his mother would tell him. She had never left an unfinished easel, or lazily tossed her brushes aside when her mind failed to give her more artistic ideas. She was dedicated; she let her emotions spill onto the blank parchment.

Alphonse didn't know how to fix his mistakes. They were there, bluntly in front of his stinging eyes. He thought at times, maybe someone can help me, someone who can understand. But he halted at those last words, knowing that no one should see his mistakes. If he was able to let those mistakes be born, he could just as well fix them on his own.

His tool was grasped in his trembling hand, his easel screamed for him, but his mind ceased to think. Alphonse would look at his painting, and was always shocked to see that his thoughts caused him to sketch such a thing. At times, he didn't know what it meant. And he was always ashamed to notice, that it was never once colorful. He wondered if he would ever have the courage to finish. All that mattered was that he had no more tears to cry.

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* * *

Roy opened his mouth wide, and exhaled onto the cold glass in front of him. A warm, fog grew on the window, and with the white cloth in his hand he wiped the spot clean.

He continued to do that for what seemed like hours, but he was able to hear the clock on the far side of the room tick very quickly.

He was glad Edward had come in to help with cleaning up today. Roy was also surprised Ed forgave him so quickly; he wasn't too sure if he deserved to be forgiven in the first place. But that Edward was always so unpredictable, if Roy did something that he thought would be for the better, it usually ended with a horrible conclusion.

Edward also seemed happier he thought; his frown wasn't too noticeable today. Even when he was washing the beakers he seemed to be in a pretty good mood…hell, Roy thought, he has to be in a good mood if he's actually volunteering to clean up the lab.

_"So Ed, got a date for Homecoming?" Roy randomly asked. He sat at his desk comfortably, watching his student pick up lost papers on the tables._

_Edward muffled a laugh as he tossed the torn worksheets in to the bin, "No, I'm not even going."_

"_How come?"_

_Edward turned, and gave him an obvious look, "Homecoming is gay. There's no point for it." He picked up the last paper, and tore it down the center._

_Roy sat back, and added a sly smile, "Ah, of course," and he started to laugh in his booming, sarcastic voice, " Really, what is the point of Homecoming when you know you're going to come back next year anyway…"_

_Ed rolled his eyes and started to push in the high stools underneath the lab tables; it remained pretty quiet for some time._

_Roy placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, "I think I'm going to chaperone…"_

_Edward looked over confusingly, "Why the hell would you want to do that?"_

"_Then maybe I'll ask Riza to dance…" his voice trailed off, and he was oblivious that Edward was still listening._

_Ed smirked, "Oh, I see now, that should have been obvious in the first place," he started to turn the faucets on the sinks off completely to stop the annoying dripping._

"_What about the play? You going to that?" Roy asked, "Word around the lounge is that it's supposed to be good…"_

_Edward paused, and struggled to turn off a remaining sink. He continued to tug on the stubborn handle, and it refused to move. Roy asked him again, wondering if Ed had heard him._

_Edward continued to ignore Roy, searching for an answer in his mind. He finally stated with a simple, "Maybe…" and asked, "Why do _you_ want to go?"_

_Before Roy could open his mouth, Edward interrupted with a sarcastic voice, "Wait, don't answer that! Riza!" He grinned innocently as he started to clean some of the beakers and tubes._

_Roy cocked a black eyebrow annoyingly, and crossed his arms, "Hey, sometimes a man of science can appreciate good art."_

_Edward laughed mockingly, "Right, of course, I can totally relate." Edward took out the white cloth Roy had lent him for the cleaning, and began to wipe the glass equipment, until they were all crystal clear._

_Roy sighed, "Well like I was saying, it's supposed to be good. The drama department has finally picked some good people for the starring roles…" he trailed off, glancing over to Ed, who refused to look up and talk directly. Roy's eyes widened, "Hey…your little friend is supposed to be Juliet, isn't she? Winry right?" _

_Edward felt as if he was about to crush the fragile beaker in his hand, and he grumbled, "Yeah what about it." He wasn't too sure why it felt like his face was heating up; he tried to convince himself it was from annoyance._

"_Well, I thought you would at least be supporting her, or something along those lines…" he turned to his computer, pressing away at keys on the keyboard, and he began to talk to himself, "Speaking of starring roles, Tringham owes me extra credit…"_

_Roy turned back to Ed, and asked, "You're his friend right? Tell him he owes me page 126-"_

_Edward interrupted, flashing his hand in the air as a gesture for Roy to stop talking, "No, you're mistaken, I am not his friend." The tone of his voice seemed to grow angrier with each word as he said that sentence._

_Roy stared perplexed, still managing to type on the keyboard, and sighed. Ah, he thought, it's amazing what kind of hatred students can bring towards one another. Of course it wasn't anything he was new to, he would see it in the hallways, or in class, and obviously he was a student one point in his life. He thought at least Edward would be one of those mature students, and not bother worrying about those kinds of things, like disliking a lower classman…_

"_Well," Edward rubbed his palms together, dropping the cloth upon the clean table, "I'm done."_

"_Thanks Ed, I really appreciate it." Roy smiled, but remained glued to the computer screen._

_Edward brought his head back, and added a long sigh. He then looked at his watch on his left wrist; his eyes widened, "Crap, I'm late…" his face grimaced as soon as he thought of his Sensei; even in his thoughts, her eyes were angry._

_Edward rushed to the door, without attempting to say goodbye. But he paused, when a noise settled and caught his attention. He turned his head quickly, to witness Roy getting up on to his feet; his hand grasped the back of the chair._

"_Ed, you really didn't need to do anything," Roy stared blankly; the lids on his dark eyes did not blink once._

_Edward stared wide-eyed, and his face softened a bit as his hand grasped the handle of the door. He darted his eyes down to the floor, thinking of something to say. He almost forgot that time was passing quickly, and with each second, Sensei got angrier._

"_You do know…" Roy broke the silence, "That he may come back." The grip of his fingers on the chair intensified; a knuckle in his hand cracked._

_Edward closed his eyes, thinking that maybe this was all just a dream; a horrible dream that he could simply forget about in the morning. He brought his face down to the floor, and opened his eyes, only to witness his right hand by his side. His brows frowned._

"_Yeah, I know." He attempted to talk straight to his friend, but his last words came out in a hoarse whisper. Just then he thought about when he went snooping through Roy's desk, like a destructive child. He wondered what Roy thought about him just now; he wouldn't be surprised if he was still upset with him…_

"_Ed, you may not think it, but I _am _truly sorry." The tone of his voice was serious, yet forgiving. Edward looked up only to notice a frown on Roy's pale expression._

_Roy sat back in his seat, and rested his chin on the back of his palms, facing straight ahead, "I've known you for some time, and you have experienced more then any person ever would. And yet here you are, standing tall and moving on with your life."_

_Edward looked down to the floor yet again; his eyes remained fixed upon his feet. He then thought about Winry…if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be able to stand and move on._

"_Ed… I should have realized before that you were mature enough to understand… why I couldn't just simply let you know about him…" his voice quivered, and trailed off a bit._

_Edward couldn't take it; he turned the doorknob suddenly, and left through the heavy door. He paused, and found himself still standing in the doorway. He slowly turned, poked his head into the room, and simply said,_

"_Thanks for saying that I was standing 'tall'."_

_Roy continued to stare forward, as though in an illusion, but he said quietly, "No problem."_

Roy sighed, and tossed the dirtied cloth into the full trash bin, _Washing windows makes me think too much…_

* * *

Please review fellow readers! Sorry, to me, if you squint really hard, it kind of looks like a crappy Roy/Ed drabble BUT THERE IS NO ROY/ED IN MY STORY KAYY? 


	13. Lost, Yet Not Alone

Hello! This chapter isn't to long, just to inform. To make this short and sweet, Russell is indeed the bastard boyfriend. Anyways, thanks for the reviews everyone! You make me very happy! (Ew, but I just read over my past chapters, and I found SO many typos and mistakes I made, and I feel so BLECH)

**Mookie and Moofie:** Hello MookieChan! I'm glad you liked the chapter! Yeah, I'm not such a a big Roy/Ed fan, so you don't have to worry about that.

**DragonofDoom3**: Wow! You left me a very nice review! Thank you very much! I'm glad to hear I'm doing a good job for my first fan fic. I've always thought high school situated ones were very creative, so I decided to write one, and now I guess I'm doing a good job lol.Thanks again!

**tjewelt8rm7**: Wow, your review was VERY enjoyable to read I must say. I don't care how much you wrote, overall, it was one of the nicest reviews I have read. Of course I will write more, and I won's stop untill this story is finished. Those are some nice suggestions, and they may be used, but who knows lol, when I write, I think as I go along. Once again, thank you very much for reading my story! (tell your best freind I said hi, and that I'm sorry I couldn't leave her a response, my computer froze..heh. her review was also insanely nice)

**kuramazlilsis:** Hi! lol, I don't mind a late review at all, I go around reading other people's fics too, so don't worry about it. Thanks for the review, and here's your update! Whee!

**writerauthorguy:** Heh...she just wished that Edward would be fine with the relationship, and just overall leave them alone. Your review made me laugh, hahaha. But in a good way. It was funny.

**WildfireDreams:** Thanks! I just feel so stupid because I read my past work and it seemed so horrible...ugh...anyways...hope you enjoy this chappie! lol

**Poison alchemist:** thanks! i really am trying hard to update as soon as possible, but its very hard. school starts soon, and I have swimming all this week, and UGH IM GONNA BE SO BUSY. well, i just hope my future chapters will be worth the wait (smile)

Please R&R! Thanks everyone!

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* * *

__Where the hell is he?_

Edward rested himself against the guardrail on the staircase, while tapping his foot nervously. The noise he made echoed throughout the empty stairs and halls, and it was the only faint noise he could hear. All the students were in their Advisories, waiting for their last period to arrive, whereas Edward decided for himself that it would be somewhat pleasant to skip. He looked down at the thin piece of paper he grasped in his fingers; his pass stated that he was on his way to the lavatory. A very simple way to skip, he thought, but he was surprised when his teacher never bothered to ask why he was always gone for the full twenty minutes of Advisory.

"I thought you said the staircase near the cafeteria…"

Edward turned his head to the direction of the sound, to only find his brother at the bottom of the stairs. He had a nervous expression, and his fingers were trembling a bit.

Edward tried to conceal a snicker, "What are you so worried about?" He made his way down the stairs, finally in front of Alphonse. Edward was not concerned about the skipping whatsoever, and he almost forgot that they were awfully close to the main office.

Alphonse let out an anxious breath of air, "I just don't like skipping, and it was really hard for me to get out, ok? My advisor is a pain…" They soon began walking around to no destination whatsoever. They tried to enjoy the fact that they didn't have to be cramped in small rooms for almost half an hour.

"So…where are we headed to anyway?" Alphonse asked as they passed empty classrooms.

Edward simply shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, I don't know, I just wanted to get out of there…" Pretty soon, they found themselves in front of their own Advisory rooms; they attempted to run quickly by them without being seen. Ed found that amusing, however, Alphonse complained about how barbaric he felt.

They walked around the entire school for about fifteen minutes, and even took the time to stop near the pool area and rest in the abandoned hallway. Alphonse repeatedly checked his watch every time they turned into a different hall, and always asked when they should go back. Edward wouldn't answer with words, but with a simple eye roll.

"Al, have you ever skipped _anything_?" Edward asked somewhat confusingly as he took a sip from his water. He had wasted his last dollar at the vending machine near the gym after they passed it. Alphonse didn't answer, but nervously took a sip from his own cold bottle. Just then, he paused, staring through the glass windows of the library they were about to pass.

Edward was almost far ahead, "Al, why'd you stop?" He ran back, only to give his brother a perplexed glare when he found him about to enter the library.

"Well, since we're here," Alphonse opened the heavy doors, "I might as well get something for my book report."

Edward followed in, trying to keep his voice quiet, "You know they'll ask you why you're here…" He then thought to himself, _this proves that he has never skipped any classes before…_

Alphonse turned, and suddenly flashed his own pass into his brother's bewildered face, for written upon it was _Library._ Alphonse smiled slyly, "At first I thought it would just be an easy excuse, but now that we're actually here, I can take the advantage." And with that, he simply made his way to the tall rows of books that lay in the far back of the library. Edward shook his head side to side and added a humorous sigh, remembering that this would have been a nice place to sneak to in the first place. He looked to the right of the library, to find the rows of computers. And with that benefit, he managed to sneak by and take a seat for the last ten minutes.

He rested back in his chair, opening the media player in the corner, only to become irritated because of the blockings. He sighed angrily, and just simply waited for his brother to check out a book.

Just then he noticed something on the far side of the large room that wanted him to get up and leave. His brows started to frown aggressively, and he felt like he was choking on nothing in particular. As soonas he got upfrom his chair, a familiar blonde took a seat next to him.

"Hey Ed," he laughed, as he signed in. Out of all the computers he could choose from the library, he had to pick this one. Ed still stood, trying his best not to grit his teeth, and turned, "Hello Russell."

Russell grinned, "What are you so angry about?" he clicked his way on to his program, as Ed still loomed above him with his back facing him. Russell turned on the swivel chair as the program loaded, and asked slyly, "Hey, you don't have Advisory in the library, do you?"

Edward suddenly turned and added a sarcastic grin as his hand grasped the chair, and said angrily, "No, I just came in here to listen to music, but seeing as you're here, I might as well be on my way."

Russell tried to conceal a laugh, "My, what a short temper," he turned back to the screen and began to type loudly, as if he forgot Edward was there by his side.

Edward's fists clenched, _short!_ _Damn him, damn him to hell!_ He tried his best to keep his voice low, but the gritting of his teeth seemed to be somewhat loud. Knowing that he couldn't do anything to shut up this bastard, he simply turned and started to walk off, with a trail of anger following him from behind.

"I thought you'd still be mad about my girlfriend," Russell's devious voice seemed to shatter the silence. Edward quickly turned, and frowned at Russell's cunning expression. Edward's anger seemed to worsen at the way Russell had said _my girlfriend._ It bothered Ed that he didn't even use Winry's name.

"She does talk about you a lot though, but it's not really anything positive if you're wondering…you seem to make her very upset." His grin still lay upon his jaw, and it seemed to grow larger each time one of Ed's left knuckles cracked.

"You're never going to find anyone quite like her," Russell added in an amused tone, still easily typing away, "She really is beautiful, wouldn't you agree?"

Edward tried his best to tune out that voice and concentrate on the clicking of the keyboard, his fingers were sore, and a muscle under his eye began to twitch. _Shut up, shut up, shut up…!_

"Yes, she is, such a fair face a nice body…" he whispered while logging off the computer.

Edward turned, his face red with anger. He managed to hoarsely murmur, "You really are something else you damn son of a-"

Russell began to laugh quietly, and interrupted Edward's foul statement as he rose to his feet. He loomed over Edward, and looked down at him with that smirk on his face, "Ed, I would be smart and just leave her alone. She has me right now, and besides, she's much happier." He let is teeth show in that evil smile, and simply walked away, his chuckle followed. All of a sudden, he paused, and choked for air, as the collar on his shirt pulled past the nape of his neck. He struggled to pry off the cold fingers, but failed so. The grip around his neck loosened, and he turned his head around with a pant of air. Edward's eyes were dark, and a small vein in the center of his eyebrows seemed to pulse as his teeth gritted.

"If you do _anything_ to Winry…" his mechanical fingers clicked as his grip around the collar tightened, "…if you hurt her…or upset her…" his voice almost went silent, "I swear I'll fucking kill you."

Russell managed to pry away from Ed's hold as quick as he can, he gasped for a quick breath of air and rubbed the front of his sore neck. However, he began to chuckle again, and rose his brows competitively, "I'd like to see you try shrimp."

Edward stood with his fists clenched, as he watched Russell walk out of the library and into the hallway, as if nothing had happened whatsoever. Those dark and angry thoughts still rang through his mind, repeating themselves over and over again, _I swear I will fucking kill you._ His mouth was dry, and his head was pounding insanely, and in the back of his mind, all he could see was Winry…was she really happier with him? He shook his head, convincing himself to believe the opinion he had thought of earlier,_ No one says anything bad about her anymore…she's happier…that way…_

"Ed!" Alphonse's voice caught his attention, and Edward looked to his brother's direction. Just then, he noticed that some students sitting at the tables on the far side of library had just witnessed the incident, and were gossiping quietly to each other. Luckily, Alphonse didn't have the moment to see anything…

Edward groaned, and walked over to Al, who held a new book by his side, "Come on Ed, the bell's gonna ring soon…" he started to walk towards the exit. Edward followed, but with his face to the floor and his fists in his pockets.

"Al?"

"Yeah?"

"You're right…skipping isn't the best idea."

* * *

Edward lay on his bed, his arms were crossed behind him and he rested his head on his palms. He stared up at the ceiling fan above him in deep thought. His golden eyes remained on each wing that went round and round and never stopped…around in an endlesscircle…almost lost…his face twisted in confusion. 

_What the hell am I talking about, a fan can't be lost…_He sat up and rested himself upon the pillow, and lay there comfortably, forgetting about the homework that was left untouched on the nightstand. He had been in his room since after school, almost two hours…just in deep thought.

Yet he wasn't alone, Winry was with him in his thoughts. Every corner he turned in his mind, she was right there, either holding her wrench menacingly, or waving with a soft smile…she was there. And he couldn't stop thinking about her…

He had known Winry all his life, and she was simply a childhood friend…the kind of person he could tell any secret to, and he was able to give her honest opinions without hesitating. And she would come to him, if she were in need. But now, she never came for him anymore, it was always _him..._Edward rarely saw her anymore...he pondered about why he wanted to see her...

He wasn't to sure if he was supposed to feel happy, or confused, or disappointed that he didn't see her as just a "childhood friend" anymore. Yet, he wondered, why is all of this changing now?

That damn Russell.

Edward had it on his last nerve; his head started to pound again, and he had the terrible urge to release his anger physically upon the soft pillow. He stopped himself and took a deep breath, and paused suddenly. His eyes widened, in excitement.

_It's come to this hasn't it…_

He quickly jumped to his feet, and leaped out of his room, and down the hallway, stopping at the last door. He knocked upon it loudly, fidgeting with enthusiasm.

_Winry doesn't deserve to be treated like that...she doesn't deserve people like that..._

The door opened, with a shocked Alphonse behind it. His book was grasped in his hand, flipped to the middle, and his brows were slightly frowning, "I was in the middle of something…"

Edward brought his hands in the air, and spoke quickly "Look, I don't care, I need a favor, you got a tie and a nice jacket or something, right?"

Alphonse blinked, "Uh…yeah I think so…why would you need that?"

Edward whispered simply, "Cause I'm going to homecoming."

* * *

Wow, yeah, I was in an angry mood when I wrote about Russell. BASTARD THAT HE IS! Ok yes, I will TRY MY BEST to update quickly, but I am a very busy person...(sob) 


	14. Artificial

Hey howdy hey readers! Chapter 14 is up!

**Aztec Goddess:(ch. 13)**I HOPE THEY REALLY DON'T BAN THE RESPONDS TO THE REVIEWERS! AHHH! Anyways, yes RUSSELL YOU ARE EVIL! (also beats with a stick)

**Aztec Goddess:** (ch. 12) Yeah, I know, now that everybody thinks of all these yaoi couples, it's hard to write something NICE without it looking GAY! grr. Anyways about Alphonse...yes...you must read on. (grin)

**Sniper Hawkeye:** Thanks for the review! I'm really glad you like my story (smile) I really am trying hard to make this good, and all that emotion is just what I was looking for! lol, you're right, I do write this as it comes to me, which explains why ive changed my mind alot lol. anyways, heres your update, thanks again!

**Shinigami's-Girl:(ch. 13 and 12) **THANKS MIGHTY PALM TREE ALCHEMIST! WOO! EWW! YEAH! WE SHOULD GO KILL RUSSELL AND PUT HIM IN OUR CORPSE PILE! YAY!

**dark staranime: **LOL, here's your update! yay! people are running around and screaming about my fic! (sniff) im so happy...thanks for reviewing!

**Lady Mirror**: AWW! THANKS SO MUCH! Well sorry, the overall dance itself doesnt occur in this chappy, but of course its there in the next. this is just what happens right before it (grin) LOTSA DRAMA IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF.

**Scar vs. State:** AHHH! IM UPDATNG! IM UPDATING! DONT HURT ME! mwhahahahaaa!

**CheeseFairyXXL:** WOO! THANKS FOR THE REVIEW! lol yeah, your freind does seem to enjoy this story, but thats what makes me extra extra happy! haha, i am a bit spazzy myself anyway.

**Poison Alchemist:** Woo! Yay! lol, awww dont be scared about 9 grade! its not really a big deal, i got through it and look where i am today! (stands tall and proud)

**tjewelt8rm7:** hell yeah! of course hes a bastard! I CANT JUST GO MAKE HIM BE ALL NICE EWWWWW. well im just glad i described him right for you lol, SORRY I FEEL BAD but the dance itself isnt in this chapter, this chapter is just about what happens before it, hope its still good...!

**WildfireDreams:**Thank you! Yes, I am indeed a huge Winry/Ed fan. Yay for winry/ed! Here's your update!

* * *

Winry stood in front of her mirror, flipping her long, golden hair off of her shoulders until she was satisfied. Her hair actually felt very soft tonight, she thought, and overall, she almost looked like a different person. 

Her blonde locks had a soft wave to it, and it fell down her shoulders, and nearly cascaded down her back. Her bangs looked a little neater, and the two strands of hair she normally let down around her face waved also, leaving her face soft. Her cerulean eyes almost shone a brighter blue, for a lilac shadow was swept across her lids, and every time she blinked, and hint of shimmer was noticed. Her lashes were long and curled, and a soft blue liner lay neatly on the bottom of her eyes. Her cheeks had a very soft and rosy glow, and lastly, her lips were touched with a hint of baby pink. She couldn't help but smile when she noticed her teeth almost appeared whiter.

She flattened out the creases of her marine blue dress, until it fell neatly around her hips and down her legs. The dress was a halter, but to her disadvantage, the neckline was a deep 'v', but she added a nice, luminescent pearl necklace to lay the attention off of her chest. Her dress ended just around her ankles, and lay slimly around her long legs. She spun around on her soft, silver heels, and watched her dress glimmer in the light.

Even though she was confidently proud of the way she looked tonight, she really disliked dressing up. She rarely wore makeup, and on occasion she would wear a skirt. But most of the time, a plain tank top and baggy pants would do her just fine. Besides, she thought, nice clothes get dirty when you're a mechanic.

She sighed dreamily, when her thoughts trailed off to her date. She delicately grabbed her small handbag as she opened her bedroom door, and made her way slowly down the hallway, cautious of her tall shoes. She thought about how Russell would react when he saw her, in the back of her mind, she wished her would like the 'older version' of herself, for right now, she thought she looked to much like a doll. Her brows suddenly frowned sharply when her thoughts trailed off to Edward; she tried to pay it no mind. She said to herself, _this is my night, not one little pipsqueak is going to ruin it for me._

She paused at the first step, and held the railing for light support. Her face softened, and she wondered if this would be a good time to forgive him. She had, after all, been ignoring him for the past time, and even shot him a dirty look or two, but she eventually wanted it to end. She smiled to herself when she pictured Russell and Edward getting along for once, and took her first step.

* * *

"Ed, this is the dumbest idea you have ever had," Al whispered as he neatly folded out his black jacket, "Do you have any idea what can happen!" 

Edward's brows frowned as he held a long, red tie in his hands, "If she won't listen to me here, then I go and tell her there. It's that simple."

The two of them were sitting on the sofa in the living room; the television played loudly to drown out their conversation. Alphonse had retrieved Edward's wanted items, and Ed was attempting to adjust his tie right, for it was to long on his torso.

"Well what if she sees you and gets the wrong idea?" Al asked quietly, while trying to hide his jacket neatly under a pillow.

Edward grunted with frustration, and simply threw the red tie on the ground. He crossed his arms over his chest, and sat back, "Well it sucks for her if she thinks I'm spying," he turned up the volume on the television a bit more.

Alphonse bent over to pick up the tie, "If you ask me, this entire situation almost seems like you're stalking--"

Suddenly, Edward's hand had slapped across Al's mouth, in a gesture to keep quiet. He listened through the noise of the T.V, and heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Without thinking, he stuffed the red tie into a ball and shoved it down his pocket as soon as the footsteps grew louder. But before anything else could happen, they paused.

"What?" Winry asked as she shrugged her shoulders, "Is the dress a little to baring?" She stood on the last stair, still flipping her golden locks a bit.

Edward and Al stared wide-eyed and sat silently as she stepped off the last stair. Alphonse quickly shook his head to end his stares, and nearly exclaimed, "Wow, Winry…you look great!"

Winry smiled sweetly, "Thanks Al!" And she quickly turned her face away from Edward's, knowing that she wasn't going to accept anything he would say to her just yet.

But Ed remained silent; and eyed her from head to toe. He had never once seen her like this, and it was completely different, yet nice. Most girls he would see at homecoming, or any kind of formal dance for that matter, would wear short dresses, or apply too much black makeup around their eyes. He thought they all looked horrible, but Winry looked soft and delicate, and her smile was blissful.

_She really is beautiful, wouldn't you agree?_

"Yeah…" was all he managed to murmur. Winry turned her head in confusion, and Alphonse cocked an eyebrow. After noticing the glares, he quickly shook out his thoughts and pretended to watch the television again. His face began to grimace when he just realized he was agreeing with that cursed bastard. _Russell doesn't think she's beautiful…he doesn't even know what real beauty is…_

"Winry…" he rose up on to his feet suddenly, and managed to choke, "Can I talk to you…?"

She blinked, and was surprised that she didn't ignore his last statement. She nodded slowly, set her handbag on the stairs, and followed him into the kitchen.

"Listen…" Winry started, "I think I should…"

Edward took a deep breath and looked her into the eyes, "Wait, listen to me…I need to tell you something important." He brought his hands to his forehead, as if trying to massage out a massive headache, but he was searching for the right words to say. Winry remained silent.

He finally said slowly, "Russell is not the guy you think he is…" he paused when he noticed Winry's brows frowning, "…please don't get mad when I say more…"

Winry's once rosy cheeks started to glow a furious red, "How could you say that! Out of all people, I thought you would at least be happy for me!"

Edward's golden eyes widened, and he tried to calm her down, "Winry, please listen to me--"

"I know you don't like him, but please, why can't you understand that _I_ do!"

"Winry--"

"And now that damned slut has stopped spreading those stupid rumors, and I have nothing to worry about anymore!" her eyes stated to sting, "But no, I meet the one guy that makes me happy, and you have to go and ruin it for me just because of some jealousy!"

Edward frowned, and he felt his face heat with annoyance,"Jealous? Jealous of what!"

"Don't act all dumb Ed, it's very obvious! And you just don't know how to leave us alone!"

Edward had it on his last nerve, "Winry this guy doesn't think about you the way you think about him!"

Winry rolled her eyes, "This makes it more obvious," and she began to yell, "How the hell can you prove it! You can't, because it's not true!"

"Winry, why do you even think I'd lie to you!"

Her cerulean eyes began to inundate, "And to think I was going to forgive you…"

Edward's face softened, and he watched a tear creep down her flushed cheek. His heart began to pound in his chest very loudly, and he could have sworn he felt a rush of pain.

"Winry…" he managed to whisper, and he tried to resist the urge of becoming irritated again, "I'm only telling you this because I don't want to see you get hurt..."

Winry quickly wiped the tear from her cheek before it disturbed any of her makeup, and angrily sighed, "Why would you care…"

_Ha…why would I care? I thought you were good at pointing out the obvious…_

Before Edward could manage to open his mouth, Winry interrupted once again, "So far you haven't done_ anything_ that proves to me that you care," she sniffled, and began to calm down a bit, "If you really care at all, you would just leave me alone…"

…_I can't do that._

All of a sudden, a knock at the door cracked through the angry silence. Winry quickly turned on her heels, trying her best to wipe her eyes, and simply left without a word.

Edward remained in the kitchen, with a horrible pain in his stomach. When he tried to take a step, an insane fluttering would occur deep in his gut, and it made him feel sick. He watched her walk down into the living room, and greet Russell at the door with an embrace, pretending like nothing had occurred.

But when she left, the front door slammed loudly; Ed didn't flinch at all. He couldn't move, he felt as if he were stuck to the floor, with nowhere else to go.

_I just can't stand here and do nothing._

He stormed out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Alphonse was still sitting with wide eyes. He turned his head slowly to Ed's direction, and commented sarcastically, "Step one went smoothly…"

Edward grunted; he searched under the pillows on the sofa, and angrily grasped the hidden jacket in his hands. He swung it over his shoulders and put it on quickly, then gestured out his hand to Al, "The tie. Give it to me."

Alphonse stared, without a response, and carefully took the tie out of his pocket, "Why are you doing this?"

Edward turned without a word and walked over to the full-body mirror that was tact to the wall near the staircase. He struggled trying to keep the tie secure around his neck, and flattened out the crude creases in the jacket. He had a pair of nice black pants that went with the jacket, and simply wore a white shirt underneath, with the red tie in the center. After he was satisfied with the outfit, he let out his braid and let his golden hair into a simple ponytail, and let it run down the nape of his neck.

"Because…" he muttered, "I have a bad feeling…"

Alphonse, still seated on the sofa, took a long sigh, "You have odd ways of showing how you care."

Edward looked down, and winced as Winry's words rang in his head, _Why would you care…_

Ed slowly walked to the front door, and grasped the doorknob in his shaking hand, "Wish me luck…" And he left.

Alphonse sat back and groaned, as he heard his brother walk down the steps, "Fat chance…"

* * *

Edward walked down the bare sidewalk, kicking a pebble with his black shoes. A cool breeze caressed through the night, making his teeth chatter. His bangs were flying into his eyes, and his left fingers were cold. He had walked pretty far, and he was close to the school; he could almost hear the excitement of the students down the hill. He stopped, and looked down, and was able to see the lit building. He noticed millions of flashes from cameras, colorful balloons, and many people swarming in and out with their dates, but he couldn't see Winry. 

He started to walk down, and he began to think, _why _am_ I doing this?_

He then paused, was there a point for all of this? She told him to leave her alone if he really cared. And he knew he did, he was able to feel it burn in the center of his chest. Every time he thought about her, he would become an entirely different person that he didn't know about. This person wasn't able to control his emotions, and he would unleash himself at the most wrong times…he wished Winry was able to understand. But she needed to understand soon…. or…

Edward looked down at his right hand, and left leg. Just then, he was able to feel the pain rush up his artificial limbs, and it burned like the fire that once engulfed them. She made these for him to stand and move on, and she did everything in her power to help. And now he had to help her.

_Edward screamed, and choked for air. His fevered brow was covered with sweat, and his jaw was tired from gritting his teeth. He kicked his right leg uneasily; as horrible pain started to slowly and agonizingly creep where his limb once was. The table he lay on shook furiously; the tray next to him with the tools nearly toppled over from all the commotion in the small room. He gasped loudly; grasping the sheets he lay on with his one hand._

_He winced, "Ah…it hurts!"_

_Winry wiped her forehead with one hand, while she grasped her tools. Her eyes were in serious focus, yet frightened as she managed to plead, "Please Ed, just bare with me, we're doing the best we can!"_

He knew he would never forget her eyes when she told him. They were a hollow blue, cold and emotionless when she said those words, _why would you care._

_You fucking idiot…_

He walked down the sidewalk, grasping his right hand in his left.

_Because I love you._

* * *

HomecomingNEXT CHAPTER! So if you want to be nice and keep reading go ahead and leave some nice reviews! mwhahaha. Normally I would put the dance in this chapter too, but I think it would be too long...be prepared cause it might be a lil song fic chapter (grin) but first...any song suggestions? 


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